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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



SYNOPSIS 



PRESENT TRUTH: 



A BRIEF EXPOSITION 



"VIEWS 01 S. D. ADYMTISTS. 



By URIAH SMITH. 



"One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism. One God and Father of 
all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."— Paul. (Eph. 4 : 5, 6.) 

"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance 
of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the Present 
Truth."— 2 Pet. 1 : 12. 



*», / '?*r&' 



BATTLE CREEK, MICH.: 

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION. 

PACIFIC PEESS, OAKLAND, CAL. 

The Present Truth, Great Grimsby, Eng. 

les signes des temps, bale, SUISSE. 

TIDERNBS TKGN, CHRISTIANA, NOSWAY. 



*T* 



j\- 



Copyright, U. Smith, 1884. 




PREFACE 



This book is the outgrowth of a series of lectures 
given at Biblical Institutes in various jmrts of the coun- 
try. A general desire for an opportunity to study the 
views thus taught, on the part of those not £>rivileged 
to attend the Institutes, led to the publication of the 
substance of the lectures, some years since, in book 
form, under the title of "The Biblical Institute." The 
work is now thoroughly revised, much of it re-written, 
and many new subjects added, making it what its new 
name is designed to indicate, a "Synopsis of the Pres- 
ent Truth." 

The design has been to give the principal facts, dates, 
and references, connected with the important subjects 
presented, in as brief a manner as possible ; and these, 
it is believed, will serve, in connection with the review 
questions, to give a general idea of the teachings of 
the Scriptures on these great themes, and furnish a good 
basis for further study. 

We would call especial attention to the questions as 
a feature upon which rests, in large measure, the value 
of the book. Those who use the book for class ex- 
ercises will of course use the questions. And we would 
recommend their use even by the general reader. 

It will be hardly necessary to say to those who may 
use this work in class exercises, that the Lessons as 
here divided are not intended to measure the length of 
the recitations. A Lesson embraces an entire subject ; 
but it will be found profitable to devote quite a num- 
ber of recitations in many instances to a single lesson. 
We commend a thorough study of these all-important 
themes to those everywhere who desire to acquaint 
themselves with the prophetic word. 

(hi) 



CONTENTS 



Chapter 




Page. 


I. 


— The Great Image of Daniel Two, 


5 


II.- 


—The Vision of Daniel Seven, 


11 


III. 


— The Vision of Daniel Eight, 


17 


IV. 


—The 70 Weeks and 2300 Days, . 


22 


V. 


—The Sanctuary, .... 


27 


VI. 


— The Messages of Revelation Fourteen, . 


39 


VII.- 


—Revelation Twelve and Thirteen, 


47 


VIII. 


—The Sabbath, .... 


62 


IX.- 


—Bible View of the Sabbath, 


80 


X.- 


—The Sabbath Theory of Akers, Jennings, M 


ede, 




and Fuller, 


89 


XI.- 


—Sabbath and Sunday— Secular History . 


100 


XII.- 


—Nature and Destiny of Man, 


113 


XIII.- 


—Nature and Destiny of Man, (Continued). 


123 


XIV- 


—State of the Dead, 


139 


XV- 


-Destiny of the Wicked, 


147 


XVI.- 


—The Seven Last Plagues, 


160 


XVII.- 


-The Millennium, 


167 


XVIII.- 


-Matthew 24, 


177 


XIX.- 


—The Seven Churches, 


190 


XX.- 


-The Seven Seals, 


202 


XXI.- 


—The Seven Trumpets, 


210 


XXII.- 


—The Signs of the Times, 


219 


XXIII.- 


—Spiritualism, . 


232 


XXIV- 


-The Second Advent, 


243 


XXV.- 


-The Two Laws, . 


255 


XXVI.- 


-The First-day Sabbath, 


272 


XXVII.- 


—Baptism. — Its Relation to the Divine Law in tl 


le 




Work of True Conversion, 


283 


XXVIII.- 


-Gifts of the Spirit, . 


296 


XXIX.- 


-Predestination, . . . 


304 


XXX.- 


-The 144,000, . 


314 


XXXL- 


-The Ministration of Angels, 


320 


XXXII.- 


-The Saints' Inheritance, 


328 



Synopsis of the Present Truth. 

CHAPTER I. 

The Great Image of Daniel Two. 

An image of gigantic form was shown to Nebu- 
chadnezzar in a dream. Its head was of gold, 
breast and arms of silver, sides of brass, legs of iron, 
feet and toes part of iron and part of clay. Begin- 
ning with the most precious metal, there is a 
uniform descent till it ends with the basest. Fi- 
nally a stone cut out of the mountain without hands 
smote the image upon the feet, dashed it to atoms, 
the wind carried away the fragments like chaff, 
and the stone became a great mountain and filled 
the whole earth. 

This indicates that the image denotes something 
which occupies the territory of the earth, inasmuch 
as the stone which succeeds it, expanding into a 
mountain, occupies its place and fills the earth. 
With this the dream ends, and the state of things 
thus introduced is to be eternal. First there is 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER ONE. 

1. What was shown to Nebuchadnezzar? 2. Of what was 
this image composed ] 3. What became of the image ? 4. 
As the stone, in taking the place of the image, occupies the 
earth, what place had the image occupied 1 5. What is indi- 

T51 



6 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

change and degeneracy, indicated by the different 
metals of the image; lastly, a permanent, eternal, 
glorious condition of things, shown by the mount- 
ain filling the earth. 

In his interpretation, of the image, Daniel told 
Nebuchadnezzar, Thou art this head of gold. Verse 

38. He did not mean Nebuchadnezzar as an indi- 
vidual ; for he was speaking of kingdoms. Verses 

39, 40. One part of the image could not represent 
a kingdom, and another part an individual. This 
would be inconsistent. The head of gold, therefore, 
symbolizes that kingdom over which Nebuchad- 
nezzar was ruler. 

Who, then, was Nebuchadnezzar ? King of the old 
Chaldean or Babylonian monarchy. This was the 
head of gold. It is sometimes objected to Advent- 
ism that is has no starting point; that the first 
steps have to be assumed or taken for granted, 
whereas its great feature is, as in this instance, that 
the starting point is given and the stakes set for 
us in unmistakable language in the Scriptures them- 
selves. 

An old Assyrian empire, founded by Nimrod the 
great grandson of Noah, Gen. 10 : 6-10, had ruled 
in Asia for 1300 years. On the ruins of this was 
founded the Chaldean or Babylonian empire of the 
Scriptures, by Belesis, the Baladan of Isa. 39 : 1, 

cated by the transition from gold to less valuable metals, 
ending in iron and clay ? 6. What did Daniel in his inter- 
pretation say to Ne buchadnezzar 1 7. Did he mean Neb- 
uchadnezzar as an individual 1 8. How do you prove that 
kingdoms are here represented 1 9. Who was Nebuchadnez- 
zar ? 10. By whom was the old Assyrian empire founded ? 
Reference. 11. Ho x long did it rule in Asia? 12. What 
was erected upon its ruins ? 13. Where and under what 



THE GREAT IMAGE OF DANIEL II. 7 

B. C. 747. In prophecy it dates from B. c. 677, 
because then it became connected with the people of 
God, by the capture of Manasseh, king of Judah. 
2 Chron. 33 : 11. It reached the hight of its glory 
under Nebuchadnezzar to whom this dream was 
given. 

From this point the road was steep and short to 
its decline and overthrow. The kings and their 
reigns were as follows: Nebuchadnezzar 43 years; 
Evilmerodach, his son, 2 years; Neriglissar, his 
son-in-law, 4 years; a son of Neriglissar, nine 
months, not counted in Ptolemy's canon; and lastly 
Nabonadius, son of Evilmerodach, grandson of 
Nebuchadnezzar, the Belshazzar of the book of 
Daniel, who reigned 17 years, and with whom that 
kingdom came to an end. 

The kingdom that succeeded Babylon, repre- 
sented by the breast and arms of silver, was Medo- 
Persia. Dan. 5 : 30, 31. Cyrus overthrew Babylon 
B. c. 538, it having continued from 677, B. c, 139 
years. 538 marks the beginning of the Medo- 
Persian kingdom; and 331, B. c, its close, when 
Darius was overthrown by Alexander the Great, at 
the battle of Arbela. The Persian kingdom con- 
tinued 207 years. 

name is the founder of the new empire mentioned in the 
Scriptures ? 14. From what year does it date in prophecy ? 
15. Why ? Reference. 16. When did it reach the hight of 
its greatness? 17. How many kings reigned after Nebuchad- 
nezzar, and how long 1 18. What kingdom succeeded Bab- 
ylon ? Reference. 19. By what is this represented? 20. 
When did Cyrus overthrow Babylon ? 21. How long had 
Babylon continued from its introduction into prophecy T 22. 
What marked the end of the Persian kingdom? 23. How 
long did Persia continue ? 24. What kingdom succeeded Per- 
sia. ? Reference. 25. How many universal earthly kingdoms 



8 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

The third kingdom, the one which succeeded 
Persia, was Grecia. Dan. 8 : 5-7, 21. 

We are to look for one more universal kingdom 
and only one, for there were to be but four in all. 
Therefore, whatever universal kingdom we find 
anywhere this side of • Grecia, that must be the 
kingdom represented by the legs of iron. Such a 
kingdom is brought to view in Luke 2:1. Csesar 
Augustus sent out a decree that all the world 
should be taxed. Then he had jurisdiction over all 
the world. His kingdom was universal. But 
Caesar Augustus was a Roman Emperor. Here we 
find the fourth and last universal empire, Rome, 
the legs of iron. The clay of the feet and toes 
denotes the degeneracy which came into the king- 
dom, and the ten toes denote the ten kingdoms into 
which the Roman empire was finally divided by the 
incursions of the Northern barbarians. Rome in 
prophecy dates from its league with the Jews, B. c. 
161, seven years after its conquest of Macedonia. 
Its division into ten parts was accomplished be- 
tween the years 356 and 483, A. D. Grecia ruled 
from B. c. 331 to B. c. 161, a period of 170 years; 
and Rome from B. c. 161, to its division in A. D. 483, 
a period of 644 years. 

The two legs do not denote the division of Rome 
into the Eastern and Western empires. If they do, 



do we look for after Grecia 1 26. Where is such a kingdom 
brought to view 1 27. Who was Caesar Augustus ? 28. 
What is denoted by the clay of the feet and toes '? 29. What 
is represented by the ten toes 1 30. From what point does 
it date in prophecy 1 31. When was it divided into ten parts? 
32. How long did Grecia rule ? 33. How long did Rome 
reign to its division into ten kingdoms 1 34. Are Eastern 
and Western Rome symbolized by the two legs of the image ? 



THE GREAT IMAGE OF DANIEL II. 9 

Rome should have been thus divided from the 
beginning of its history, or the legs should have 
been united down to the ankles, as it was not till 
A. D. 330 that the seat of empire was moved from 
Rome to Constantinople. But history forbids the 
former, and consistency forbids the latter. 

"In the days of these kings " the kingdom of God 
is to be set up. Not in the days of any one of the 
previous kingdoms which had passed away, nor of 
Rome in its undivided state, when it was but one 
kingdom. It is not till after we find a plurality of 
kingdoms existing contemporaneously, that we can 
look for the setting up of the kingdom of God, and 
we do not find these contemporaneous kingdoms till 
we find Rome breaking up into its final divisions, 
356 to 483, A. D. Not till then was the image com- 
plete, ready to be smitten by the stone upon the 
feet. The kingdom represented by the stone could 
not therefore have been set up in the days of 
Christ and his apostles, 483 years before this di- 
vision was completed. The fact is therefore for- 
ever settled that the kingdom represented by the 
stone is not a spiritual kingdom, but is literal like 
the four preceding it; and that it is yet future; 
for nothing to answer to the setting up of this king- 
dom has taken place since 483, A. D. 



35. If so, -when should Rome have been divided 1 36. When, 
l»y whom, and where, was the seat of empire moved from 
Rome? 37. In the days of these kings ; what kings 1 38. 
Why may not some one of the first three kingdoms be meant, 
or Rome before its division ? 39. When was the image 
complete so that it could be smitten upon the feet ? 40. 
Was the kingdom represented by the stone set up in the days 
of Christ or his apostles ? 41. Why not \ 42. Is this king- 
dom a literal kingdom, and why ? 43. Is it yet future, and 



10 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TKUTH. 

It will be asked if those kings or kingdoms are 
still in existence in the days in which the God of 
Heaven was to set up his kingdom. If they were 
established so long ago as 483, have they not 
all passed away ? We answer, No. They are the 
kingdoms which, as Dr. Scott remarks, have gen- 
erally been known since that time as the ten 
kingdoms of Western Europe. Many of them can 
easily be traced to the present time. Originally 
they were the Huns, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, 
Vandals, Suevi, Heruli, Burgundians, Anglo-Saxons, 
and Lombards. And we have now the French 
from the Franks, the English from the Anglo- 
Saxons, the Portuguese from the Suevi, the Spanish 
from the Visigoths, the modern Italians from the 
Ostrogoths, and the Huns and Lombards from the 
original stock of that name. 

The image is all complete. We are still in the 
days of these kings, and wait for the setting up of 
the kingdom of God, which is the next and only 
remaining event in this line of prophecy. 

why ? 44. Are those kingdoms still in existence ? 45. 
What is Dr. Scott's remark % 46. What were the names of 
the ten kingdoms originally ? 47. What modern nations do 
we now find descended from them 1 48. Is the image now 
complete ? 49. Are we still in the days of these kings i 50. 
What is the next event in this line of prophecy ] 



CHAPTER II. 



The Vision of Daniel Seven. 

The symbolic language of the Scriptures is to be 
explained by the literal. All the figures of the Bible 
are defined by the literal language of the Bible. 
We have here the sea, winds, and four great beasts, 
none of which, of course, are to be regarded as lit- 
eral. The sea, rivers, or waters, used as figures, 
denote "peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues." 
Rev. 17 : 15 ; Isa. 8 : 7. Winds denote political 
strife and war. Jer. 25 : 32, 33. The beasts denote 
four kingdoms that arose on the earth, one after 
the other. Dan. 7 : 17, 23. The fourth beast is the 
fourth kingdom; therefore the other beasts denote 
kingdoms, though they are, like this one, sometimes 
called kings. 

The consistency of the figures, as illustrating the 
events of human history; is at once seen. In the 
most populous civilized portions of the earth, which 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER TWO. 

1. How is the symbolic language of Scripture to be ex- 
plained ? 2. Are the figures of the Bible explained by the 
Bible ? 3. What figures are here introduced ) 4. What 
is symbolized by the sea? References. 5. What by the 
winds ? Reference. 6. What do beasts, when used as sym- 
bols, represent '] 7. What is said of the fourth beast ? 8. 
To what portion of the earth must we therefore look for the 
fulfillment of this representation ? 9. How many universal 

[11] 



12 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

from earliest history have been Western Asia and 
Europe, political strife has moved among the people. 
As a consequence, revolution has succeeded revolu- 
tion, and four great kingdoms have one after an- 
other arisen and fallen. 

We have seen from the great image of Dan. 2, 
that there were to be but four universal kingdoms 
from Daniel's day to the end of time. The fourth 
beast of this vision of Dan. 7, denotes the last one 
of these earthly governments ; for he is given to the 
burning flame, and the kingdom passes into the pos- 
session of the saints with a perpetual title. 

The four beasts of Dan. 7 therefore denote the 
same four kingdoms that are represented by the 
great image : the first beast, the lion, symboliz- 
ing Babylon, B. c. 677 to 538; the second, the 
bear, Medo-Persia, B. c. 538 to 331; the third, the 
leopard, Grecia, B. c. 331 to 161; the fourth, the 
great and terrible nondescript, Rome, B. c. 161 to 
A. D. 483. 

The lion had at first two wings as of an eagle, 
representing the rapid conquests and ruling power 
of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, who raised it to 
the hight of its power. The wings were plucked 
and a man's heart given to it — as it was under the 
last king, the weak and pusillanimous Belshazzar. 

The bear raised itself up on one side, showing the 
ascendency of the Persian element in the Medo- 

kingdoms have existed on the earth beginning in the time of 
Daniel ? 10. By what is the last one of these governments 
here symbolized? 11. What kingdoms, therefore, are 
brought to view by these beasts 1 12. Give the dates of 
Babylon. 13. The dates of Persia ; of Grecia ; of Rome. 
14. What was signified by the two wings of the lion ? 15. 
What period of the empire was fitly represented by the lion 
with a man's heart and no wings I 10. What is shown by the 
bear raising himself up on one side ? 17- What by the three 



THE VISION OF DANIEL SEVEN. 13 

Persian empire, as more fully brought out in the 
symbol of the ram of chapter 8. The three ribs 
denote, probably, the three provinces especially 
devoured by this kingdom, Babylon, Lydia, and 
Egypt, which greatly stimulated the Persian lust 
for power, or said to it, Arise and devour much 
flesh. 

The leopard had four wings, denoting the rapidity 
of Grecian conquests under Alexander ; and four 
heads, signifying the division of the kingdom into 
four parts after Alexander's death, more particularly 
noticed under the symbol of the goat of chapter 8. 

The fourth great and terrible beast had ten horns. 
These are declared to be ten kingdoms which should 
arise out of this empire. Dan. 7 : 24. These corre- 
spond to the ten toes of the image. Pome was 
divided into ten kingdoms between the years A. D. 
356 and 483, as follows : Huns, A. D. 356; Ostro- 
goths, 377; Visigoths, 378; Franks, 407; Vandals, 
407; Suevi, 407; Burgundians, 407; Heruli, 47(3; 
Anglo-Saxons, 476; Lombards, 483. This enumera- 
tion of the ten kingdoms is given by Machiavel in 
his History of Florence, lib. 1. The dates are fur- 
nished by Bishop Lloyd, and the whole is approved 
by Bishop Newton, Faber, and Dr. Hales. 

ribs ? 18. How did they say to it, Arise and devour much 
flesh ? 19. What is shown by the four wings of the leopard ? 
20. What by the four heads ? 21. What do the ten horns of 
the fourth beast represent ? 22. To what do these corre- 
spond in the image of chapter 2 ? 23. Between what years 
was Rome divided ? 24 Name the ten kingdoms and the 
dates when they arose. 25. Who gives this enumeration of 
the kingdoms ? 26. Who furnishes the dates ? 27. What 
celebrated scholars indorse this work of Machiavel and 
Bishop Lloyd 1 28. What was seen coming up among the 



14 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

Among these ten horns another little horn diverse 
from the others thrust itself up, plucking up three 
in its course. This was the papacy, established in 
538. The decree of Justinian, emperor of the East, 
declaring the pope the head of all the churches, was 
issued in 533 ; but before it could be carried out, 
three Arian powers who stood opposed to papal doc- 
trines and assumptions had to be removed out of the 
way, namely, the Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths. 
The Ostrogoths were forced into* a final retreat from 
Rome in March 538, and Justinian's decree was car- 
ried into effect. 

This horn spoke great words. Witness the titles 
the pope has assumed, and received from his flat- 
terers. He has worn out the saints of the Most 
High. Between fifty and one hundred millions of 
martyrs testify on this point. He has thought to 
change times and laws ; the law, say the Septuagint, 
the German, and Danish translations, pointing out 
the law of the Most High. This the papacy has 
thought to do, by endeavoring to change the fourth 
commandment, substituting the first day of the week 
for the Sabbath, in place of the seventh, which the 
commandment enjoins. See Hist, of the Sabbath, 



ten horns ? 29. What does this little horn represent ? 30. 
When was the papacy established ? 31. When was Justin- 
ian's decree issued? 32. WTiy does not papal supremacy 
date from the year of this decree instead of 538 ? 33. What 
three horns were plucked up by the papacy, and why ? 
34. When were the Ostrogoths forced to abandon Rome ? 35. 
In what way has the pope «spoken great words against the 
Most High? 36. How has he worn out the saints? 37. 
What has he thought to change ? 38. What reading is given 
by the Septuagint, German, and Danish versions ? 39. How 
has the papacy endeavored to change the law of God? 40. 



The vision of daniel seven. 15 

and Catholic Catechisms. They have been given 
into his hands a time, times, and dividing of time, 
or half a time : three times and a half. A time in 
Scripture signifies a year. Dan. 4:16, compared 
with Josephus who says that the " seven times" were 
seven years. Three times and a half are therefore 
three years and a half. As the Bible year consists 
of 360 days (12 months of 30 days each) three and 
a half of such years give us 1260 days ; and these 
days being symbolic, a day for a year, Eze. 4:6; 
Num. 14 : 34, we have 1260 years for the continu- 
ance of papal supremacy. This is the same as the 
1260 days and 42 months of Rev. 12 and 13 applied 
to the same power. Reckoned from 538, they bring 
us to 1798. Feb. 10, of that year, Berthier, acting 
under the French Directory, took Rome and carried 
the pope into exile where the next year he died. 
Here sat the judgment of verse 26, and his dominion 
was taken away (temporarily overthrown but not 
consumed), and has been waning away both tempo- 
rarily and spiritually from that time to the present. 
In verses 9 and 10 judgment of another kind is 
brought to view : the investigative Judgment of the 
Heavenly Sanctuary, commencing in 1844. In con- 



Where is proof of this found ? 41. For how long a time 
were the saints, times, and laws given into the hands of this 
little horn? 42. How long a period is meant by "a time "? 
43. How many days in " a time, times, and a half " 1 44. Are 
these days literal or symbolic l 45. How much time is rep- 
resented by a symbolic day 1 References. 46. How much 
literal time have we, therefore, for the continuance of papal 
supremacy'? 47. Where and in what terms is this same 
period of time elsewhere mentioned ? 48. Reckoned from 
538, t© what year do they bring us ? 49. What took place 
in that year ? 50. What judgment is brought to view in 
verse 26 1 51. What in verses 9 and 10 1 52. When were 



16 SYNOPSIS OF THE PEESENT TKUTH. 

nection with that a special utterance of great words 
is heard by the prophet. The great Ecumenical 
Council, held in Rome in 1870, furnishes a marked 
fulfillment. There by a deliberate vote of the high- 
est dignitaries of all the Catholic world, 538 against 
2, July 21, 1870, the pope was decreed to be infalli- 
ble. In two months from that time, Sept. 20, IS. 70. 
Rome surrendered to the troops of Victor Emanuel, 
and the last vestige of the pope's temporal power 
departed. His destruction in the burning flame 
must be at hand. 

The fifth kingdom of this vision, which the saints 
take and possess forever, is the one under the whole 
heaven, including the territory of these beast king- 
doms. It is therefore the same as the kingdom of 
Dan. 2, which fills the whole earth. What folly, 
then, to talk of the kingdom of Dan. 2 being set up 
at the first advent of Christ, since it is not set up 
till after the papacy has run its allotted career, and 
is destroyed, — an event that takes place only at the 
second coming of Christ in power and glory! 2 
Thess. 2:8.' 



the greatest and most presumptuous words of the papacy 
heard ? 53. On what day was the vote of infallibility taken ( 
54. How did the vote stand ? 55. What took place two 
months later ? 56. Into whose hand does the kingdom 
finally pass ? 57. Where is it located and what is its extent I 
58. What relation does this show between this kingdom and 
the kingdom of God of chapter 2 ? 59. What then shall be 
said of the idea that the kingdom of Dan. 2 was set up at 
the first advent of Christ 1 



*4g^«»4«iftt^ 



CHAPTER III. 



The Vision of Daniel Eight 

The symbols of this chapter are mostly explained 
in the chapter itself. The ram with two horns, the 
higher of which came up last, represented the kings, 
or the kingdom, of Media and Persia, the two horns 
symbolizing the two elements in the nation, the 
Medes and Persians. The Persian came up last and 
attained the controlling influence. Hostilities first 
broke out between the Babylonians and the Medes, 
whereupon Cyaxeres, king of the Medes, summoned 
to his aid his nephew Cyrus, the son of his sister 
who had been married to Cambyses, the king of 
Persia. Cyrus, responding with an army of 30,000 
Persians, was at once placed by Cyaxeres in com- 
mand of the joint forces of the Medes and Persians. 
On the taking of Babylon, B. c. 538, Cyaxeres 
(who is called Darius in Dan. 5 : 31), as civil ruler, 
took the throne. On his death, two years later, 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER THREE. 

1. What symbols are introduced in Daniel 8 ? 2. Where 
are these symbols mostly explained 1 3. What does the ram 
with two horns represent ? 4. What do the two horns sym- 
bolize 1 5. Which was the higher 1 6. How did this come 
up last ? 7. Who was Cambyses ? 8, Whom did Cambyses 
marry ] 9. Who was Cyrus 1 10. When was Babylon taken 
by Cyrus 1 ll f Who was then placed on the throne of the 
kingdom i X% Wh.aib name is given to Cyaxeres in Dan. 5 ; 

3 [17] 



18 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

B. C. 536, he made Cyrus his successor, and the same 
year, Cambyses, the father of Cyrus dying, Cyrus 
was brought also to the Persian throne. The tw*» 
were then united in one ; and thus was founded the 
Medo-Persian empire, the ruling house being in the 
Persian line. This power pushed its conquests 
especially in the directions named, northward, west- 
ward, and southward, till in the days of Ahasuerus, 
Esther 1 : 1, it reigned over one hundred and twenty- 
seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia. 

The rough goat is explained to be the king 
of Grecia. Verse 21. The great horn between his 
eyes was the first king. Id. This shows that the 
word king as first used has the sense of kingdom ; 
as it would be absurd to speak of the first king of 
a king. This first king was Alexander the Great, 
who having defeated the last Persian king, Darius 
Codomannus, at the battle of Arbela, Oct. 1, B. c. 
331, found himself master of the world. This horn 
was broken and four came up in its place, denoting 
the four parts into which his empire would be 
divided. Eight years after the battle of Arbela, 
Alexander gave himself up to beastly drunkenness 
to that degree that he died Nov. 12, B. c. 323, aged 
only 33. Prideaux gives a just estimate of the 
man when he calls him "the great cut-throat of 

31? 13. When did Darius die? 14. What change then 
took place in the position of Cyrus? 15. How extensive 
was the Persian empire in the days of Ahasuerus 1 Reference. 
16. What is symbolized by the rough goat ? 17. What by 
the great horn between his eyes ? 18. What does this show 
in relation to the use of the word king in these prophecies ? 
19. Who was the first king 1 . 20. When and how did he 
become master of the world ? 21. How was this horn 
broken ? 22. Give the date of his death, and his age at the 
time ? 23. What estimate of Alexander is given by Prideaux ? 



THE VISION OF DANIEL EIGHT. 19 

the age in which he lived." In the name of 
Aridseus. then called Philip, bastard brother of 
Alexander \s and also an idiot, and by Alexander's 
two infant sons, Alexander JEgus and Hercules, all 
being under the guardianship of Perdiccas, the 
unity of the empire was for a time maintained. 
But it did not take long to put these all out of the 
way, and within fifteen years after Alexander's 
death the kingdom was divided into four parts, 
between his four leading generals: Cassander had 
Macedon and Greece ; Lysimachus had Thrace and 
those parts of Asia that lay upon the Hellespont 
and Bosporus; Ptolemy had Egypt, Libya, Arabia, 
Palestine, and Coele- Syria; and Seleucus had Syria 
and all the East. These kingdoms are called, in 
brief, Macedonia, Thrace, Syria, and Egypt. They 
date from about B. c. 308. 

The little horn denotes a succeeding kingdom to 
arise in the latter part of the reign of the four 
horns, a kingdom of fierce countenance, strange 
language, a wonderful destroyer, to stand up against 
the Prince of princes, and at last to be broken 
without hand. This horn was not Antiochus 
Epiphanes, as claimed by some, for he was not 
" exceeding great " in comparison with Medo-Persia 
and Grecia that went before. He did not increase 
his dominions, was not another horn, but only one 



24. How was the unity of the empire for a while maintained ? 

25. How long before these were all put out of the way ? 26. 
What then took place ? 27. Name the four kingdoms. 28. 
Name their respective rulers. 29. What is the date of their 
rise ? 30. What is denoted by the little horn ? 31. To 
whom is this symbol sometimes applied ? 32. Why can it 
not apply to Antiochus Epiphanes (pronounced An-£i'-o-kus 
E-|n/-a-neez) ? 33. What kingdom does answer to the little 



20 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

(the 8th in order) of the 26 kings that constituted 
the Syrian horn of the goat. He did not stand up 
against the Prince of princes (Christ), but died 164 
years before our Lord was born. 

This horn must symbolize Rome, as in the paral- 
lel visions of Dan. 2 and 7. Rome came out of 
one of the horns of the goat, as it conquered Mace- 
donia B. c. 168, and in 161 became connected with 
the people of God by its league with the Jews ; 
1 Mac. 8 ; Josephus' Antiq., b. xii., c. x., sec. 6 ; 
Prideaux, vol. ii., p, 166 ; thus becoming a sub- 
ject of prophecy, and appearing to the prophet 
to come out of the Macedonian horn. It ex- 
tended its conquests toward the east, south, and 
pleasant land (Palestine), making provinces of the 
following countries : Syria, B. c. 65 ; Palestine, 
B. C. 63 ; Egypt, B. c. 30. It stood up against the 
Prince of princes, nailing Christ to the cross. By 
Rome the daily was taken away and the trans- 
gression of desolation set up ; that is, there was a 
change in the religion of the empire, Paganism (the 
daily desolation) was taken away, and the papacy 
(the transgression of desolation, or the abomination 
that maketh desolate) was set up. Dan. 12 : 11. 
An host was given him : the hordes of barbarians 
that overran the empire, but were converted to the 
papal faith. 

horn of his prophecy ? 34. How can Rome he said to come 
out of one of the horns of the goat ? 35. In what directions 
did Rome extend its conquests? 36. When were Syria, 
Palestine, and Egypt made Roman provinces 1 37. How did 
Rome stand up against the Prince of princes ? 38. What is 
meant by the daily ? 39. How was the daily taken away by 
Rome 1 40. What was put in its place ? 41. To whom was 
£he hos£ of yerse 12 g^ven? 42, Wfto constituted this host? 



THE VISION OF DANIEL EIGHT. 21 

This horn of Daniel 8 must not be confounded 
with the little horn on the fourth beast of Dan. 7. 
That symbolized the papacy exclusively. This 
embraces Rome through its whole career, both pagan 
and papal. In other words, this horn of Dan. 8 is 
the same as the great and terrible beast of Dan. 7 
in both its phases. 

In verse 14 is introduced the period of 2300 days, 
the sanctuary, and its cleansing. All the vision was 
sufficiently explained to the prophet with the ex- 
ception of the time. But Daniel says, verse 27, 
"I was astonished at the vision, but none under- 
stood it." Although Gabriel had been commanded 
to make him understand it, Daniel fainted before 
an explanation of the time was reached, and the 
angel was obliged to postpone further instruction. 

43. Is this horn of the vision of Dan. 8, the same as the horn 
of the fourth beast of Dan. 7, and why i 44. What is intro- 
duced in verse 14? 45. How much of the vision had been 
explained to Daniel ? 46. Yet what does Daniel say in verse 
27 ? 47. To what must this have reference ? 48. Why did 
not Gabriel go on till he had explained to Daniel every part 
of the vision ? 49. Had he been commanded to explain it ? 
50. What may we therefore still look for 1 




CHAPTER IV. 



The 70 Weeks and 2300 Days. 

In the ninth chapter of Daniel we find a further 
explanation of Daniel 8. Mark the connection 
between the two chapters. 1. Gabriel appears 
again to Daniel, verse 21, the very one who in 
the vision of chapter 8 had been commanded to 
make him understand that vision, but who had 
not yet completed that mission. 2. Daniel refers 
to the vision at the beginning in which he had seen 
this angel. This must be the vision of chapter 8, 
as no other had intervened between that and this. 
3. Gabriel said, " I am now come forth to give thee 
skill and understanding," the very work he was 
intrusted with in chapter 8, but had been obliged, 
on Daniel's account, to postpone. 4. The angel 
then himself refers back to the vision of chapter 8, 
saying, "understand the matter" and consider "the 
vision." 5. He then commenced with the very 
matter omitted in chapter 8, namely, the explana- 
tion of the time : "Seventy weeks are determined 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER FOUR. 

1. Where do we find a further explanation of Dan. 8 ? 
2. Who on this occasion appeared to Daniel ? 3. To what 
does Daniel refer ? 4. What vision must this be 1 5. What 
did Gabriel say? 6. How do these words suggest a connec- 
tion with chapter 8? 7. To what does the angel himself 
then refer ? 8. With what point does the angel here com- 
mence his explanation ? 9. What are his words \ 10. What 
[22] 



THE ?0 WEEKS AND 2300 DAYS. 2o 

upon thy people." The word here rendered deter- 
mined, signifies "cut off." Seventy weeks are cut 
off. From what ? From the 2300 days. Wher- 
ever the 70 weeks commence, there the 2300 days 
begin. 

Gabriel then proceeds to give the starting point. 
When a commandment should go forth to restore 
and build Jerusalem, the seventy weeks would 
beo'in. The first decree that was issued after this 
time, in any wise affecting Jerusalem, was the 
decree of Cyrus B. c. 536 for the return of the Jews 
and the rebuilding of the temple. Ez. 1. But this 
only provided for the temple, and fell far short of 
granting the "restoration" to which the prophecy 
points. This work was hindered by the enemies of 
the Jews in the reign of Artaxerxes the Magian, B. 
c. 522. Ez. 4. The decree of Cyrus was reaffirmed 
by Darius Hystaspes, B. c. 5 1 9, and the work on the 
temple again went forward. But this decree like 
that of Cyrus was too limited in its provisions. At 
length Ezra obtained a decree from Artaxerxes 
Longimanus, in the seventh year of his reign, B. C. 
457, Ez. 7 : 7, containing provisions for the com- 
plete restoration of the Jewish State. This decree, 

does the word rendered " determined " signify 1 11. From 
what are the seventy weeks cut off ? 12. Does the commence- 
ment of the seventy weeks determine the commencement of 
the 2300 days \ 13. What event does Gabriel name as the 
starting point of the seventy weeks? 14. What was the 
first decree issued after the giving of this vision '? 15. For 
what did this decree provide I 10. How and when was this 
work hindered] 17. Who reaffirmed the decree of Cyrus, 
and when 1 18. What must be said of the provisions of this 
decree ? 19. What was the next decree ? 20. Under what 
king and in what year did this decree go forth ? Reference. 
21. What provisions were contained in this decree '? 22. In 



24 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

written in the original in Chaldaic or Eastern 
Aramaic, the language of the Persian court, is found 
in full in Ez. 7 : 12-23. When this went forth, 
the prophecy was met, all three of the decrees con- 
stituting " the commandment," as expressed in Ez. 
6 : 14, and the date of its going forth being that 
point when the last one with its full provision, was 
carried into effect by Ezra. Ez. 7 : 9. The com- 
mission to Nehemiah 13 years later, was no decree, 
and is not to be taken into the account, 

Seven weeks or 49 years were allotted to the 
literal work of building the city, and arranging the 
affairs of the State. This was completed in the last 
act of reformation by Nehemiah, in the fifteenth 
year of Darius Nothus, B. c. 408, exactly 49 years 
from the commencement of the work by Ezra, B. c. 
457. Sixty-two weeks, 434 years more, were to 
extend to Messiah the Prince. Christ was set forth 
as the Messiah, or the Anointed, at his baptism 
when he was anointed with the Holy Ghost. Acts 
10 : 37, 38 ; 4 : 27 ; Luke 4 : 18, etc. This period 
therefore reaches to his ministry, which commenced 
in A. D. 27. For John began his ministry in the 
fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, Luke 3 : 1, which 

what language was this originally written ? 23. Where is it 
found in full ? 24. Was the prophecy met in this decree ? 
25. How much did it take to constitute the ' ' commandment " ? 
Reference. 26. What can be said of the commission granted 
to Nehemiah 1 27. How much time was allotted to the 
building of the city ? 28. How and when was this completed ? 
29. What is the next division of time, and to what does it 
reach ? 30 v What is the meaning of the word Messiah ? 

31. When was Christ set forth as the Messiah? References. 

32. Does this period then reach to his birth or to the com- 
mencement of his ministry? 33. When did Christ's min- 
istry begin ? 34. When did John commence his ministry 1 
Reference. 35. What year was the 15th of Tiberius Caesar 1 



THE TO WEEKS AND 2300 DAYS. 25 

was in A. D. 27, and Christ entered upon his work 
six months later, which would bring us to the 
autumn of that year. And to this point exactly, 
the 69 weeks or 483 years bring us, reckoned from 
B. c. 457, in the autumn when Ezra commenced his 
work at Jerusalem. Here Christ went forth pro- 
claiming, " The time is fulfilled," Mark 1 : 15, which 
can have reference to nothing else but the fulfill- 
ment of this period which was to bring us to 
Messiah the Prince. 

After the 7 weeks and the 62 weeks he was to be 
cut off, or in the middle of the 70th week, cause 
the sacrifice and oblation to cease. These expres- 
sions point unmistakably to the crucifixion of Christ. 
The ministry of Christ continued just three years 
and a half ; for he attended but four passovers, at 
the last of which he was crucified. John 2 : 13; 5 : 
1 ; 6 : 4 ; 13 : 1. If the sixty-ninth week ended in 
the autumn of A. D. 27, the middle of the 70th week, 
three and a half years further on would be in the 
spring of A. D. 31, and right there the crucifixion 
took place. See Hales' Chronology. We go forward 
three years and a half more to the termination of 
that week, and find ourselves at the end of the 70 
weeks in the autumn of A. D. 34. How much yet 



36. How long after the commencement of John's ministry 
did Christ enter upon his 1 (A priest could not enter upon 
his office before the age of 30. See Num. 4 : 3, 23, 35, 39, 
43, 47. It is supposed that John and Christ followed the 
same rule ; and as Christ was six months younger than John, 
he would begin his work six months later. Of him it is said 
that he was about 30 years old at his baptism, and so was 
doubtless fully 30 when he began his public ministry.) 37. 
To what point do the 69 weeks or 483 years bring us, reckoned 
from the autumn of b. c. 457 1 38. Why did we reckon from 



26 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

remains of the 2300 years ? 2300—490 = 1810; and 
34 + 1810=1844, where the whole period of 2300 
years expired. So definitely and easily is the appli- 
cation of this period of 2300 years ascertained. The 
seventh year of Artaxerxes when Ezra received his 
commission is placed in B. c. 457 by Ptolemy's canon, 
and the accuracy of that canon is demonstrated by 
the concurrent agreement of more than 20 eclipses. 
The starting point for the 2300 days cannot there- 
fore be moved from B. c. 457 without showing 
the inaccuracy of Ptolemy's record of these eclipses. 
But Prideaux says that they have been repeatedly 
calculated and have been found invariably to fall 
where Ptolemy has placed them. Connections, vol. 
i. p. 242. 



the autumn ? 39. What announcement did Christ make at 
the commencement of his preaching ? 40. To what must 
this have had reference 1 41. What was to take place after 
the 7 weeks and the 62 weeks 1 42. Wheji were the sacrifice 
and oblation to cease ? 43. To what must these expressions 
refer? 44. How long was Christ's ministry? References. 
45. To what point do 3^ years from the autumn of a. d. 27 
bring us ? 46. On what authority is the crucifixion placed 
in the spring of 31 ? 47. Where did the 70 weeks terminate 1 
48. How many days remain of the 2300 after the expiration 
of the 70 weeks ? 49. Where, then, did the 2300 days end I 
50. What celebrated work fixes the 7th of Artaxerxes to the 
year b. c. 457 1 51. By what is the accuracy of Ptolemy's 
canon demonstrated ? 52. What does Prideaux say of the 
authority of this work ? 



CHAPTER V. 



The Sanctuary. 

The prophecy of Dan. 8:14 simply declares that 
at the end of the 2300 days the sanctuary shall 
be cleansed. The subject of the sanctuary thus 
becomes the central and controlling question in this 
prophecy. If we regard it as something which is 
to be cleansed only at the coming of Christ, then 
the 2300 days must extend to Christ's coming. 
Many hold it in this light, and hence their continual 
efforts to readjust the prophetic periods, and set 
new times for the Lord to come. 

The word sanctuary occurs in the Bible 144 
times, and both the definition of the word and its 
use, show it to mean a holy or a sacred place, and a 
dwelling place for God. This fact should guard 
any one against applying it to any object which 
will not bear this definition, or to which it is not 
applied in the Scriptures. 

The earth is not the sanctuary ; for it is not a 
holy or sacred place ; and the Scriptures never call 
it the sanctuary. 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER FIVE. 

1. What is stated in Dan. 8 : 14 ? 2. How does the sub- 
ject of the sanctuary affect our views of the coming of Christ ? 
3. How many times does the word sanctuary occur in the 
Bible? 4. What is the definition of the word? 5. Why 
may not the earth be the sanctuary? 6. Wiry not the land 

[27] 



28 SYNOPSIS OP THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

The land of Canaan is not the sanctuary, for the 
same reasons. Neither can the term be applied to 
any limited portion of the land, as to Jerusalem, or 
Mt. Zion; for though these were spoken of while 
the Hebrew people maintained the favor of God, as 
holy, and a place where God would dwell, it is 
evidently because his temple was there, which he 
had caused to be erected for his habitation. For 
this reason Moses once speaks of the mountain of 
inheritance as the sanctuary, Ex. 15:17, just as 
David calls Judah, in one instance, the sanctuary, 
Ps. 114:2, and in another instance, Mt. Zion ; Ps. 
78 : 68 ; but the tribe was not the mountain, any 
more than the mountain was the sanctuary ; but 
the tribe possessed the mountain, and upon the 
mountain was the sanctuary "built," says David, 
"like high palaces." Ps. 78:69. However, Paul 
settles the question so far as pertains to the whole 
Mosaic dispensation, covered by the first covenant, 
and tells us emphatically that another object was 
the sanctuary during that time. Heb. 9:1, 2. 

The church is not the sanctuary ; for it is no- 
where called such. One text, mentioned above, Ps. 
114: 2, is sometimes quoted to prove the church the 
sanctuary ; but that has been already explained ; 
and even if it was to be taken in its most rigidly 

of Canaan ? 7. Can the term be applied to any limited por- 
tion of the land, as to Mt. Zion or Jerusalem, and why not ? 
8. What does David say of the tribe of Judah, and how is 
his language explained? 9. What does David say of the 
sanctuary in Ps. 78 : 69 ? 10. How does Ps. 78 : 54, 69, 
explain Ex. 15 : 17 1 11. What bearing does Paul's language 
in Heb. 9:1,2 have upon this part of the subject ? 12. Is 
the church the sanctuary? 13. What can be said of Ps. 
114 : 2 ? 14 If at any time the church was the sanctuary, 



THE SANCTUARY. 29 

literal sense, it would only prove that a particular 
tribe, and not the whole church was the sanctuary. 
But the statement quoted from Paul, Heb. 9:1, 2, 
applies to this very time when Judah constituted a 
portion of God's people, and he tells us that some- 
thing else was then the sanctuary. And further, 
if the church ever constituted the sanctuary, even 
then it could not be the sanctuary of Dan. 8:14; 
for there the church is brought to view by the term 
" host " as an object entirely distinct from the sanct- 
uary. 

But to return to Paul's statement in Heb. 9:1, 2. 
What is that which he says was the sanctuary 
during the continuance of the first covenant ? 
Answer, The tabernacle built by Moses in the 
wilderness of oinai, which was afterward embodied 
in the temples of Solomon, Zerubbabel, and Herod. 
This is described in full in Ex. 25, and onward. 
This settles the subject of the sanctuary down to 
the time of Christ. The only question now to be 
decided is, Has there been a sanctuary since that 
time ? and if so, what ? 

These questions are definitely answered in the 
writings of Paul. He says that the second covenant 
has a sanctuary, the same as the first. The new 
covenant was introduced and ratified by Christ. 
He is its minister. His ministry is performed in 
Heaven. He is there a minister of the sanctuary, 

could it be the sanctuary of Dan. 8 : 14, and why ? 15* 
What does Paul say was the sanctuary of the first covenant ? 
Reference. 16. Where is this described? 17. How much 
is settled by Paul's language ? 18. What question remains ? 
19. Has the new covenant a sanctuary ? 20. When and by 
whom was the new covenant introduced and ratified ? 21. 
Where does Christ perform his ministry ? 22. While in 
Heaven of what is he a minister ? g3, Where then is th§ 



30 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not 
man. Heb. 8:1, 2. The sanctuary of this cove- 
nant is, therefore, where the minister is, in Heaven. 
The sanctuary of the first covenant was a type 
of the Heavenly sanctuary of the new. Moses, 
when he made the tabernacle, made it after a 
pattern. Ex. 25: 9, 40 ; 26: 30 ; Acts 7: 44 ; Heb. 
8: 5. That was made with hands (by men) ; Heb. 
9 : 24 ; the one in Heaven, not by men, but by the 
Lord, Heb. 8:2 ; 9:11. The earthly sanctuary is 
twice called a figure, and once a pattern of the 
sanctuary in Heaven. Heb. 9 : 9, 23, 24. The 
Heavenly sanctuary is called the greater and more 
perfect tabernacle, and the true, in comparison with 
the earthly. Heb. 9: 11, 24. 

But more than this, John in his vision of things 
in Heaven saw there the antitype of the golden 
candlestick, the altar of incense, the golden censer, 
and the ark of God's testament, all instruments of 
the sanctuary, the presence of which unmistakably 
proves the existence of the sanctuary where they 
were seen. And John also had a view of the sanct- 
uary itself, which he brings to view under the 
name of "the temple of God in Heaven." Rev. 4: 
1, 5; 8: 3; 11: 19. Thus it is called also by David 
and Habakkuk. Ps. 11:4; Hab. 2:20. It is 
called God's " holy habitation " by Jeremiah and 
Zechariah. Jer. 25:30 ; Zech. 2:13. 

new covenant sanctuary ? 24. What relation did the sanct- 
uary of the first covenant bear to that of the new? 25. 
What was Moses commanded when about to make the taber- 
nacle 1 References. 26. How is the earthlv sanctuary 
spoken of in Heb. 9 : 9, 23, 24 1 27. What is the Heavenly 
sanctuary called in comparison with the earthly ? 28. What 
was shown to John in vision 1 References. 29. What is 
the Heavenly sanctuary called by David and Habakkuk? 
References. 30. What by Jeremiah and Zechariah, \ Ref- 



THE SANCTUAKY. 31 

Having found the sanctuary, we now inquire, 
What is its cleansing ? With the sanctuary there 
were connected instruments of service and a priest- 
hood. The sanctuary contained two apartments, 
separated by a veil. The first was called the holy 
place, the second the most holy. In the holy place 
were the candlestick with seven branches, the table 
of show-bread, and the altar of incense. In the 
most holy was the ark, containing the tables of the 
ten commandments. The cover of the ark, beaten 
out of a solid piece of gold with the figure of a 
cherub on either end, was the mercy-seat. In this 
sanctuary the priests ministered. This ministry is 
described in Lev. 1 and onward. When a person 
had sinned, he brought his offering to the door of 
the tabernacle to the priest, laid his hands upon the 
head of his offering, and confessed upon him his 
sin, took his life, and the blood was taken by the 
priest into the sanctuary and sprinkled before the 
veil. His sin was thus transferred to the sanctuary. 
This went on through the year continually, sin all 
the while accumulating in the sanctuary, till the 
tenth day of the seventh month, when the priest 
performed a special service in the most holy place, 



erences. 31. What was connected with the sanctuary ? 32. 
How many apartments had the sanctuary ? 33. What was 
the first called ? 34. The second ? 35. What was in the 
first apartment ? 36. What in the second ? 37. How was 
the cover of the ark made, and what was it called ? 38. Who 
ministered in this sanctuary ? 39. Where is the ministry 
described i 40. What was done by a person who had sinned? 
4J. What was done with the blood of the victim ? 42. What 
effect did this have on the person's sin ? 43. How long did 
services like this go on? 44. What was meanwhile accumu- 
lating in the sanctuary? 45. When was the service changed ? 
4G. Where was this special service performed? 47. What 



32 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

to close the yearly round of ministration, called the 
cleansing of. the sanctuary. On this day two goats 
were brought and set apart by lot to the Lord and 
to Azazel. See Lev. 16:8, margin. The blood of 
the goat for the Lord was taken and sprinkled by 
the priest upon the mercy-seat in the most holy 
place, to make atonement for the sanctuary and for 
the sins of the people. Coming out he confessed 
over the scape-goat all the sins of the people and 
thus placed them upon his head. Lev. 16: 21. 
This goat was then sent away by the hand of a fit 
man into the wilderness. Thus the sanctuary was 
cleansed, and sin was put away from the people. 

But all this was a figure. That sanctuary, those 
offerings, the work of the priests, all were figures. 
Paul says of the priests that they " served unto the 
example and shadow of heavenly things." Heb. 
8:4,5. All looked forward to the greater and 
more perfect priesthood after the order of Melchis- 
edec, performed, Paul says, by Christ in Heaven. 
Christ is at once the antitype of the offering and 
the priesthood. He first shed his blood and pro- 
vided the offering. Then he entered upon his work 
as priest. What the earthly priests did in figure, he 
does in fact. They transferred the sins of the 
penitent to the earthly sanctuary in figure. He 
transfers them to the Heavenly sanctuary in fact. 



was it called? 48. To perform this service what did the 
priest first take ? Lev. 16 : 5, 7. 49. How and to whom 
were these goats set apart? 50. What was done with the 
blood of the goat set apart for the Lord ? 51. For what pur- 
pose was this blood sprinkled upon the mercy-seat ? 52. On 
coming out from the sanctuary, what did the priest do ? 53. 
Where did this place the sins of the people ? 54. What was 
then done with this goat ? 55. In what condition did this 
leavg $0 sanctuary an^ the people? 06 What was ih$ 



THE SANCTUAEY. 33 

We come to Christ for pardon, and this is the way 
we receive it. To deny this is to deny all that 
Paul has taught us in the book of Hebrews 
respecting the relation of the work of those ancient 
priests to the work of Christ as our High Priest in 
Heaven. 

The Heavenly sanctuary must be cleansed for 
the same reason that the earthly was cleansed. This 
Paul expressly states. Heb. 9:22, 23. Any who 
object to things being cleansed in Heaven, must set- 
tle that with the apostle. The cleansing, however, 
was not from physical uncleanness, but from sin. 
When was this to be cleansed ? At the end of the 
2300 days in 1844. There was no other sanctuary 
then in existence but the Heavenly sanctuary of 
the new covenant ; hence that is the one to which 
that prophecy applies. How is the cleansing in this 
case to be performed ? Just as in the type, by a 
closing service in the most holy place. The high 
priest passes into the most holy which he enters only 
for this purpose, makes the atonement by the offer- 
ing of blood upon the mercy-seat, and closes the 
round of sanctuary service. In the type this round 
was completed every year. In the antitype it is 



nature of all this service ? 57. Unto what did Paul say that 
these priests served \ 58. To what did all their service look 
forward ? 59. Of what is Christ the antitype \ 60. What 
lid he first provide ? 61. Upon what work did he then 
enter? 62. What is the nature of his work compared with 
that of the earthly priests ? 63. When we receive pardon 
from Christ, what disposition is made of our sins ? 64. Must 
the Heavenly sanctuary be cleansed, and Avhy ? 65. Where 
is this stated? 66. From what is it to be cleansed? 67. 
When was it to be cleansed I 68. What proof that the 
Heavenly sanctuary must be the one refei red to? 69. How 
is its cleansing to be performed \ 70. How often is a round 
of service performed in the antitype ? 71. What must we 

3 



34 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

performed once for all. The type and the prophecy 
of the 2300 days hold us to the conclusion that in 
1844 Christ entered upon his final work as priest 
in the second apartment of the sanctuary in Heaven. 
In the type one day of the year was set apart to this 
work, and a portion Qf the day was actually em- 
ployed in the service. In* the antitype the time is 
indefinite, but it must be comparatively brief. 

As this concludes Christ's work as priest, with it 
probation ends, as there is no more mercy to be of- 
fered. And when that point is reached, all cases are 
decided for eternity. But this work of decision is 
a work of Judgment. It must be the first part of 
that three-fold work of Judgment solemnly declared 
in God's word to await all mankind: first, to decide 
all cases ; secondly, to determine the rewards or 
punishments ; thirdly, to execute the sentence writ- 
ten. But Christ does not make his second advent 
till his work as priest is done. Therefore, before the 
coming of Christ a portion of the work of Judgment 
transpires and probation ends. This accords with 
Rev. 22:11, 12: "He that is unjust let him be un- 
just still, . . . o and he that is holy let him be 
holy still. And, behold, I come quickly." It ac- 
cords also with the necessities of the case ; for when 
Christ appears there is no time allotted for a work 
of Judgment, yet all the righteous dead are then 

conclude, therefore, took place in 1844? 72. In the type 
how much time was employed in this service ? 73. In the 
antitype, how much 1 74. What ends with Christ's work as 
priest I 75. What is this work of decision ? 76. What part 
of the Judgment must it be 1 77. What part of his work 
does Christ finish before his second advent 1 78. What must 
therefore take place before Christ comes ? 79. What script- 
ure sustains this view ? 80. How does it meet the necessities 
of the case ] 81. What subject provides for this necessary 
preliminary work of Judgment 1 ? 82. What is the work of 



THE SANCTUARY. 35 

raised, leaving the wicked to sleep on for a thou- 
sand years, and all the righteous living are changed 
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. This con- 
clusively shows that decision must have been ren- 
dered in their cases before the coming of the Lord. 

In the cleansing of the sanctuary we have just 
the time and place for this preliminary or investi- 
gative work of Judgment. This is the very nature 
of the work of Christ at this time to put away sin 
and so decide who are righteous. This involves an 
examination of the books of record containing the 
deeds of every man's life ; for all Judgment is ren- 
dered according to every man's work written in 
the books. Rev. 20: 12. Hence in the account of 
the opening of this scene in the most holy of the 
Heavenly sanctuary, as given in Dan. 7: 9, 10, we 
read that " the Judgment was set and the books 
were opened." This is before the coming of Christ; 
for it is before the destruction of the papal beast on 
account of the great words of the little horn. Verse 
11. Here is where the Son of man is brought to 
the Ancient of Days, and receives his kingdom, 
which kingdom he receives before his return to this 
earth. Dan. 7: 13, 14; Luke 19: 12. 

Here sins, repented of and pardoned, are blotted 
out; Acts 3:19, 20; which work being ended, 
Christ is sent the second time to this earth. But if 



Christ during this time ? 83. What does this involve ? 84. 
From what is all Judgment rendered 'I Reference. 85. 
What scene does Dan. 7 : 9, 10 describe ? 86. What is said 
of the books at this time? 87. What shows that this is 
before the coming of Christ ? 88. Where does the Son of 
man receive from the Ancient of Days his kingdom 1 89. 
Does he receive his kingdom before his return to earth? 
Reference. 90. To what does Acts 3 : 19, 20 apply ? 91, 



36 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

at this time a person's sins are not in a condition to 
be blotted out, his name is blotted out of the book of 
life. Rev. 3:5. Here Christ confesses the names 
of his people before his Father, receiving of the 
Father acceptance of them through him. 

This is the finishing of the mystery of God, 
brought to view in Rev. 10:7. The mystery of 
God is the gospel to all nations. Eph. 3:3 com- 
pared with Gal. 1: 12; Eph. 1: 9; 3: 9; Rom. 16: 25, 
26; Col. 1:25, 27. The finishing of this mystery, 
must be the close of the gospel work which will 
cease when Christ's work as priest is done. There- 
fore the cleansing of the sanctuary, the investiga- 
tive Judgment, and the finishing of the mystery of 
God, are all one and the same work. 

The commencement of this work is marked by 
the end of the great period of 2300 days, and the 
commencement of the sounding of the 7th angel, 
the last of the series of the 7 trumpets. The angel 
of Rev. 10 announces the close of prophetic time. 
Verse 6. This must be prophetic time; for literal 
time, duration, continues in the days of the 7th an- 
gel subsequently mentioned ; and probationary time 
continues in the announcement of another message 
of mercy. Verse 11. Prophetic time ends with the 
2300 days, which is the longest prophetic period 

When will Rev. 3 : 5 be fulfilled ? 92. What is the mystery 
of God? References. 93. What is the finishing of this 
mystery ? 94. To what does Rev. 10 : 7 apply ? 95. How is 
it shown that Rev. 10 : 6 applies to prophetic time ? 96. 
With what does prophetic time end? 97. To what point 
does Rev. 10 : 6 bring us ? 98. What did the angel say to 
Daniel and John would then take place I 99. Are these the 
same ? 100. What trumpet marked the commencement of 
this work ? 101. What event is given in Rev. 11 : 19 to mark 
the sounding of the 7th angel ? 102. To what work does this 



THE SANCTUAKY. 37 

and reaches down to the latest point. Hence, Rev. 
10: 6 brings us to the conclusion of the 2300 days. 
Then, said the angel to Daniel, shall the sanctuary 
be cleansed. Then, said the angel to John, shall the 
mystery of God be finished; which is the same 
thing. This he said would be in the days when 
the 7th angel should begin to sound ; that it would 
occupy the first years of his sounding. And again 
John says, when the 7th angel began to sound, the 
temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there 
was seen in his temple the ark of his testament. 
Rev. 11:19. This introduces us into the second 
apartment of the Heavenly sanctuary; but the 
work in that apartment is the cleansing of the 
sanctuary, the investigative Judgment, the finish- 
ing of the mystery of God, which consequently com- 
menced when the 7th angel began to sound. 

The sins being borne from the sanctuary in the 
type, were laid upon the head of the scape-goat, 
which was then sent away to perish. This was the 
shadow of some service in connection with the 
Heavenly sanctuary by which our sins are to be put 
away in fact forever. Upon whom could they more 
appropriately fall at last than upon the devil, the 
author and instigator of sin? Satan is the antityp- 
ical scape-goat. Azazel, Lev. 16:8, margin, is held 
on good authority to mean the devil. True, Christ 
is said to have borne our sins, but that was upon 
the cross before he commenced his priestly work. 
He •never after bears them except as priest; and the 

introduce us? 103. What was done with sins borne from 
the sanctuary? 104 Who is the antitypical scape-goat? 
105. What does the word Azazel mean ? 106. When did 
Christ bear our sins, and in what sense ? 107. When does 
the scape-goat, or Satan, bear them? 108. Where is the. 



38 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 



last he does with them is to lay them upon the head 
of their author, the devil, who is sent away with 
them to a land not inhabited. The account of this 
binding of Satan is found in Rev. 20 : 1-3. At the 
end of the thousand years, being loosed out of his 
prison by the resurrection of the wicked, whom he 
then again has power to deceive, even to bring them 
up against the camp of the saints, Rev. 20 : 8, 9, he 
is, with them, forever destroyed by fire from God 
out of Heaven. Then comes the day of the execu- 
tion of the Judgment, and perdition of ungodly 
men. 2 Pet. 3: 7. Sins are then put away forever. 
Evil is destroyed root and branch. A new heavens 
and earth succeed the old. Verse 13. The saints 
enter upon their everlasting inheritance, and the 
universal song of jubilee goes up from a holy and 
happy universe to God and the Lamb. Rev. 5: 13. 



account of the binding of Satan found I 109. What takes 
place at the end of the thousand years I 110. What day is 
this ? Reference. 111. What follows ? 



CHAPTER VI, 



The Messages of Revelation Fourteen. 

Having seen that the cleansing of the sanctuary 
is a work of Judgment, a key is placed in our hands 
for an explanation of the messages of Rev. 14. The 
first message, verses 6, 7, is symbolized by an angel 
flying in the midst of heaven, having the ever- 
lasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the 
earth, saying with a loud voice, "Fear God, and 
give glory to him ; for the hour of his Judgment is 
come; and worship him that made heaven and 
earth, and the sea and the fountains of waters." 

Let us see what we are warranted to expect from 
the terms of the message, that we may know what 
to inquire for as a fulfillment. The scope of the 
message is the gospel either as a whole or in some 
of its special phases; and the burden of its an- 
nouncement is that the hour of God's Judgment 
is come. Some Judgment work connected with the 
gospel we are therefore to look for. But the gospel 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER SIX. 

1. How does the subject of the sanctuary help us to 
understand the three messages of Rev. 14 ? 2. By what is 
the first message symbolized ? 3. What does he have to 
preach \ 4. What are his words ] ^ 5. What is the scope of 
this message 1 6. What is the burden o£its announcement ? 
7. What are we therefore to look for V" 8* What Judgment 

[39] 



40 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

brings to view no work of this kind except that 
connected with the close of the probation of the 
human race, near the end of time. Still it cannot 
be any phase of the Judgment after probation has 
ended; for two other proclamations to men follow 
it before the Lord appears as symbolized by one 
like the Son of man on the white cloud. Verse 14. 
It can therefore be no other than the work of 
investigative Judgment which we have seen takes 
place above, as the sanctuary is cleansed, immedi- 
ately preceding the coming of Christ. And further, 
it is a time message, based on the prophetic periods; 
for it announces the hour of God's Judgment come, 
and must consequently bring us to the commence- 
ment of that work. 

With these data before us, where shall we look 
for that message ? We need not stop even to in- 
quire if it was given by the apostles, or the re- 
formers, or any class of religious teachers previous 
to our own day; for if given at any time before 
the last generation it would not be true. The 
apostle reasoned of a Judgment to come, Acts 17: 
31; 24:25; and it is recorded of Luther that he 
thought the day of Judgment was about 300 years 
distant from his day. But our own generation has 
witnessed such a proclamation as the message an- 

is brought to view by the gospel ? 9. Can this be any Judg- 
ment that takes place after probation ends 1 10. Why ? 
11. What therefore is the nature of this Judgment, and 
when and where does it take place ? 12. What is the nature 
of this message, and on what is it based ? 13. To what must 
it bring us? 14. Was this message given by the, apostles or 
reformers ? 15. Can such a message be given till we reach 
the last generation? 16. What did the apostles say about 
the Judgment ? References. 17. How far off did Luther 
think it was fr'om^is day ? 18. What has our own genera- 
tion witnessed? 19. What was this movement? 20. On 



MESSAGES OF REVELATION FOURTEEN. 41 

nonnces. In the great Advent movement of 1840 
to 1844 and onward, the fulfillment is seen. 

This movement was one of the right nature: it 
was based on the prophetic periods, and proclaimed 
time. It was of sufficient extent: it went to every 
missionary station on the globe. See Exposition of 
Matt. 24. This angel of Rev. 14 : 6 is the same as 
the angel of Rev. 10. Evidence of this is found in 
the chronology of this latter movement, the nature 
of the message, and the terms in which the procla- 
mation of this angel is uttered. Rev. 10 : 6. But 
this angel utters his oath on the authority of a 
little book which he has in his hand open. This is 
unquestionably the book which Daniel had been 
told to close up and seal to the time of the end, and 
the fact that the angel now had it in his hand open, 
shows that his message is given this side of the 
time of the end. He proclaims the end of prophetic 
time, and following that the finishing of the mys- 
tery of God. In Rev. 14 : 6, 7 it is the finishing 
of the prophetic periods, and then the hour of God's 
Judgment. The finishing of the mystery of God, 
and the hour of God's Judgment, therefore, occupy 
the same time and bring to view the same work, — 

what was this Advent movement based ? 21. What was its 
extent ? 22. What relation has this angel to the angel of 
Rev. 10? 23. Where is the evidence of this found? 24. 
From what does this angel utter his oath? 25. In what 
condition is the little book? 26. What book is probably- 
intended by this 1 27. What directions had been given in 
regard to this book ? 28. How long was it to be closed up 
and sealed ? 29. What is shown by the fact that the angel 
now has the book open ? 30. What does this angel pro- 
claim I 31. What is the proclamation of Rev. 14 : 6, 7 ? 32. 
This being the same angel, what relation does the hour of 
God's Judgment have to the finishing of the mystery of God f 



42 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

a work to be fulfilled in the cleansing of the sanct- 
uary, commencing in 1844 and now going for- 
ward. 

Having located the first message, the others must 
follow in order. The second has received as marked 
a fulfillment as the first. Babylon is brought to 
view under the symbol of a woman in Rev. 17: 5. 
This does not mean the wicked world, or worldly 
powers; for the woman is seated upon a beast 
which represents the civil power. Verse 3. A 
woman is the symbol of a church; a lewd woman 
representing a corrupt or apostate church, Eze. 16; 
and a virtuous woman, a pure church. Rev. 12 : 1. 
But Babylon is not confined to any one church; for 
this woman of Rev. 17: 5 has daughters of the same 
character with herself. Parity of reasoning would 
lead us to include under this term all heathen 
systems of religion, as well as portions of the so- 
called Christian world. Babylon means mixture 
and confusion. The name is derived from Babel, 
where God rebuked men's impious attempt to build 
a tower to Heaven, by confounding their language. 
The great fault here charged upon Babylon is that 
she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath 
of her fornication, or corrupted them with her false 
doctrines. 

33. In what is this work to be fulfilled ? 34. When did it 
commence 1 35. How does locating the first message affect 
the others ? 36. Has the second message received a marked 
fulfillment? 37. What is the symbol taken to represent 
Babylon i 38. Why does not this woman, or Babylon, 
represent the wicked world ? 39. Of what is a woman the 
symbol 1 40. Is Babylon confined to any one church, and 
why ? 41. What must be included under this term ? 42. 
What does the term Babylon mean 1 43. From what is it 
derived? 44. What is the great fault charged upon Bab- 
ylon ? 45. What is meant by the wine of the wrath of her 



MESSAGES OF REVELATION FOURTEEN. 43 

The fall of Babylon is not the loss of temporal 
power by the papacy, nor the destruction of the 
city of Rome. For the papacy does not lose her 
temporal power because she made the nations drink 
of her false doctrines; but that is the very means 
by which she obtained and so long held it. And it 
cannot mean the destruction of Rome; for Babylon 
is where the people of God are largely represented. 
Rev. 18: 4. But this has never been true of Rome, 
and especially it was not when the second message 
of Rev. 14 was given. And, secondly, it is after 
Babylon's fall that the people of God are called out, 
which would be an absurdity if applied to the fall 
and burning of Rome. And, thirdly, after the fall 
Babylon fills up with hateful birds and foul spirits, 
which makes the application to the destruction of 
Rome still more ridiculous. 

The fall of Babylon is a moral fall, as is shown 
by Rev. 18 : 1-3. But, the proclamation of this fall 
being connected with the great Advent movement 
of our own days, it must apply to some portion of 
Babylon which was at that time in a condition to 
experience a moral change for the worse. But this 
announcement, Babylon is fallen, could not then be 
said of the heathen world, which has for ages been 
lost in darkness and corruption ; nor of the Romish 
church, for that has for generations been as low as 

fornication? (The word rendered "wrath" has also the 
definition of " violent passion," which rendering would make 
the prophet's figure more consistent. ) 46. Why is not the 
fall of Babylon the loss of temporal power by the papacy ? 
47. Why can it not mean the destruction of the city of 
Rome ? 48. When are God's people called out ? 49. What 
happened to Babylon after her fall ? 50. What, therefore, 
must be the nature of her fall ? 51. To what portion of 
Babylon must this proclamation apply? 52. What must be 



44 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

it is possible for any organization, religious or sec- 
ular, to descend. It must therefore have reference 
to those classes who have partially come out from 
Romish errors, but stopped short of receiving all 
the light that was offered them. This is true of 
the great mass of Protestant sects. They ran well 
for a season, and had a large measure of the graces 
of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of God to wit- 
ness to what truth they were willing to receive. 
But their theology is still hideously deformed by 
enormous errors drawn from Rome, which they re- 
fuse to abandon. A reception of the first message 
would have healed their divisions and made a begin- 
ning of the work of correcting their errors. We 
know this from the effect it did have on those who 
received it, who came from all these denominations. 
But they rejected the message, and shut it out of 
their houses. The cry was then raised, Babylon is 
fallen; and although the distinctive call of Rev. 
18:4, " Come out of her my people," which we 
apply to the future, was not given, yet some 50,000 
persons did come out from the theolgoical bondage 
to which they were subjected, an earnest of a still 
greater separation to take place, as we believe, in 
the near future, when Rev. 18 : 2 is more completely 
fulfilled in them, and the cry of verse 4 shall be 
given. 

This state of religious declension among the popu- 
lar churches has been a marked condition with them 



said of the great mass of the Protestant sects ? 53. What 
condition is their theology still in ? 54. What would the 
first message have done for them 1 55. How do we know 
this ? 56. How did they treat the message ? 57. What cry 
was then raised ? 58. What was the result 1 59. What do 
we look for in the future 1 60. What has marked the con- 



MESSAGES OF REVELATION FOURTEEN. 45 

since 1844. The most devoted among them saw and 
deeply deplored it then. See testimonies in work 
entitled, The Three Messages. Their condition in 
this respect has not improved since ; and the spas- 
modic and emotional efforts of a Knapp, Hammond, 
Moody, and other modern revivalists, are not afford- 
ing any permanent improvement. There is an 
advance truth for this age, and no permanent work 
of religious reform can be accomplished except in 
connection therewith. 

The third angel followed them; and now the 
message deepens into a most close and pointed 
warning, and a denunciation of wrath more terrific 
than anything elsewhere to be found in the Bible, 
against uniting with an ti- Christian powers in the 
las.t work of opposition against God, upon which 
they will embark before the end. It is announced 
with a loud ' voice that if any man worship the 
beast or his image, or receive his mark in his fore- 
head or hand, he shall drink of the wine of the 
wrath of God poured out without mixture into the 
cup of his indignation. The terms here employed 
are without dispute highly figurative; and hence 
many conclude at once that they cannot be under- 
stood. But surely God would never announce judg- 
ments so terrible as these and then clothe the warn- 
ing in such terms that it could not be understood, 
and so men not know whether they were exposing 

dition of these churches since 1844 1 61. Have they them- 
selves admitted and deplored it? 62. Has their condition 
improved since \ 63. What can be said of the efforts of 
modern revivalists 1 64. Where only can we look for per- 
manent religious reformation 1 65. What is the burden of 
the third message which follows ? 66. Against what does it 
utter its warning 1 67. Can this message be understood ? 



46 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

themselves to the punishment or not. This is cer- 
tainly the last message to go forth before the coming 
of Christ; for the next scene is one like the Son of 
man coming on a white cloud to reap the harvest 
of the earth. None but Christ does this. This 
message consequently reaches to the close of proba- 
tion; and whoever is giving the true Advent mes- 
sage, will be urging upon the people a warning of 
this nature. If we have reached the last days and 
the coming of Christ is at the doors, the time has 
come for this message. It is due. Yet there are 
those who will presume to call themselves Advent- 
ists, and proclaim the coming of Christ very near, 
who entirely ignore this message, leave it out of 
their preaching, and profess to know nothing about 
it. Are such standing in the light and giving the 
true message ? Assuredly not. 

Seventh-day Adventists claim to be giving this 
message. People have a right therefore to demand 
of us an explanation of the terms and figures em- 
ployed in the message; and we stand ready to give 
it. This is the burden of our work, to warn against 
the worship of the beast, and urge in contrast 
obedience to God. An exposition of the symbols 
introduced, involves an examination of Rev. 12 
and 13. 



68. What relation has this message to the coming of Christ ? 

69. To what point must it reach ? 70. Is this message now 
due 1 71. What will that people be doing who are giving 
the true Advent message 1 72. What do S. D. Adventists 
claim 1 73. What have people a right to demand of us ? 
74 What is the burden of our work? 75. Where do we 
look for an explanation of the symbols of the message ? 



CHAPTER VII, 



Revelation Twelve and Thirteen. 

The last part of Rev. 13 brings to view the very 
agents against which warning is uttered in the third 
angel's message. A beast with two horns like a 
lamb makes an image to a preceding beast, and 
enforces the worship and mark of that beast. This 
antecedent beast is described in Rev. 13 : 1-10. But 
this beast receives his seat and power and great 
authority from a symbol still preceding him, — a great 
red dragon, described in Rev. 12:3, 4. With this 
chapter the vision opens. John beholds a woman 
(the gospel church) clothed with the sun (entering 
the light of the gospel dispensation), the moon (the 
typical dispensation) under her feet (just past), and 
upon her head a crown of 12 stars (the 12 apostles). 
To the expectant church appears a man child who 
was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and who 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER SEVEN. 

1. What is brought to view in the last, part of Rev. 13? 
2. What does the beast with two horns do ? 3. Where is 
this antecedent beast described ? 4. From what does this 
beast receive his seat and great power? 5. Where is this 
dragon described ? 6. With what does this line of prophecy 
begin / 7. What does the woman represent ? 8. What is 
meant by her being clothed with the sun } 9. By having the 
moon under her feet ? 10. By having upon her head a crown 
of twelve stars? 11. Who was the man child which then 

[47] 



48 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TEUTH. 

was caught up to God and to his throne. This can 
be none other than Christ. The dragon endeavored 
to devour this child as soon as he was born. This 
Home tried to do when Christ was born. The 
dragon therefore is here a symbol of Pagan Rome. 

The dragon gave his seat, power, and great author- 
ity to some other power represented by the follow- 
ing beast like a leopard. Rev. 13:1-10. To what 
power was the dragon's seat, ancient Rome, given 
up ? Answer. To the papacy. The seat of empire 
was moved to Constantinople, and the bishop of 
Rome soon ascended, in the city of Rome, a higher 
throne than her pagan emperors had ever occupied. 
Great power was given to him ; or, in other words, 
supremacy was conferred upon him, by the decree 
of Justinian, emperor of the East, carried out in 538. 
The parallel between this beast, Rev. 13:5-10, and 
the little horn of the fourth beast of Dan. 7: 21, 25, 
27, conclusively shows that it represents the pa- 
pacy. This being so, the time of his captivity, verse 
10, was at the end of the 1260 years in 1798. 

1. At this time another power is introduced upon 
the scene. "I beheld another beast." This was 
therefore no part of the papal beast. It was no 



appeared ? 12. What did the dragon endeavor to do to this 
man child? 13. What government endeavored to do this ? 
14. Of what then is the dragon here a symbol ? 15. What 
did the dragon do with the place he had occupied as his seat ? 
16. To what power was Rome, the dragan's seat, given 2 17. 
What took place in Rome shortly after the seat of emp're 
was moved to Constantinople? 18. How, when, and by 
whom, was great power given to the Roman bishop ? 19. 
What is shown by the parallel between this beast and the 
little horn of the 4th beast of Dan. 7 ? 20. When was the 
time of his captivity ? 21. What is introduced at this point 
of time \ 22. Why was not this any part of the papal beast? 



KEVELATION TWELVE AND THIRTEEN. 49 

kingdom or nation in Western Europe ; for had it 
been, it would have been one, or some part of one, 
of the ten horns of the first beast. It was no king- 
dom of Eastern Europe, Western Asia, or Northern 
Africa; for these had all been appropriated to the 
symbols introduced in the 2d, 7th, and 8th of Dan- 
iel. And John does not say, I saw the lion, bear, 
leopard, the fourth beast, or any of his ten horns, 
coming up, but " another" beast. We are obliged to 
look to the Western hemisphere for the territory of 
this power. And we must look to the leading 
power which has arisen here, which is our own 
government. 

2. The chronology is equally decisive in fixing 
the application to our own country. This power 
was seen coming up when the previous one w r ent 
into captivity, which was in 1798. If we look the 
earth all over what new power do we find coming 
up in a manner to attract the attention of the world, 
at that time ? None but our own government. 

3. It comes up out of the earth, in contrast with 
the sea out of which the preceding beast arose; that 
is, it arose in territory previously unknown and 
unoccupied by the peoples, nations, and tongues, of 
civilization. This is true of our own government, 
but of no other one equally prominent. 

23. Why not some kingdom in Western Europe ? 24. Why 
not some kingdom in Eastern Europe, Western Asia, or 
Northern Africa ? 25. To what part of the world are we 
therefore obliged to look for this power ? 26. To what gov- 
ernment 1 27. What can be said of the chronology of this 
symbol 1 28. When was this power seen coming up 1 29. 
What new nation was then arising to the notice of the world 1 
30. With what is its coming up out of the earth contrasted, 
and what does this signify 1 31. Of what government is this 

4 



50 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

4. John saw this two-horned beast coming up in 
1798. Our own nation was just then " coming up," 
and has continued to come up since that time, in a 
manner that finds no parallel in the history of any 
nation on the earth. Look at a few items of its 
progress in a hundred years. The population in 
1775 was 2,803,000; now, over 50,000,000. Terri- 
tory in 1783, at the time our independence was 
acknowledged, 815,615 square miles; now, 3,578,392 
square miles. Agricultural interests 100 years ago 
were small and in the hands of uneducated men. 
First patent for cast iron plow in 1797. About 400 
patents on this implement alone have since been 
granted. Then the seed was sown and crops har- 
vested by hand. Drills, seed-sowers, cultivators, 
reapers, mowers, and threshing machines, are inven- 
tions all within the memory of living men. Present 
product (1880), according to the official report of 
the Statistician of the Department of Agriculture, 
corn, 1,717,434,543 bushels; wheat, 498,549,868; 
rye, 24,540,829; oats, 417,885,380; potatoes, 167,- 
659,570; hay, 31,925,233 tons; barley, 45,165,346 
bushels; cotton, 2,854,471,100 lbs. ; sugar, 272,980,- 
000 lbs. Cotton crop in 1792, value, $30,000; 
now, $280,266,242. Fruit, then unknown; now 
valued at over $40,000,000. Horned cattle, number, 
33,306,355; horses, 11,429,626; sheep, 43,576,899; 
swine, 36,247,603. In 1848 gold was discovered in 
California. The product to this time is over $800,- 
000,000, with a present capacity of 70,000,000 a 
year. Railroads 82,000 miles, enough to reach more 



true ? 32. Have the United States " come up " in a manner 
to meet the prophecy ? 33. What was its population in 1775, 
and what is it now ? 34. What was its territory in 1783, and 
what is it now? 35. What is its present gold-producing 



KEVELAT10N TWELVE AND THIRTEEN. 51 

than three times around the globe. More than 1,000 
cotton fa ctories, 580 daily newspapers, 4,300 weeklies, 
and 635 monthly publications. Between the years 
1817 and 1867 the growth of the territorial domain 
of this country was 1,968,008 square miles. This is 
over 1,400,000 square miles of territory more than 
was added by any other one nation during this time, 
and more than 800,000 square miles more than were 
added by all the other nations of the earth put to- 
gether. Mitchel speaks of it as "the most striking 
instance of national growth to be found in the his- 
tory of mankind." Emile de Girardin calls it " un- 
paralleled progress." The Dublin Nation speaks of 
it as a most " wonderful American empire emerging." 
Can any one doubt what nation has been " coming 
up " during this time ? And the one that has been 
coming up must be the one symbolized by the two- 
horned beast of Rev. 13. 

5. And all this has been accomplished in a quiet 
and peaceful manner. The symbol arose out of the 
earth. This nation has not been established by the 
conquest and overthrow of other nations, as the 
nations of Europe have been, but simply by stand- 
ing up in defense of its right against the mother 
country. The word translated " coming up " in Rev. 

capacity? 30. How many miles of railroad has it? 37. 
How many cotton factories ] 38. How many daily newspa- 
pers 1 39. How many weeklies I 40. How many monthlies ? 
41. In the 50 years between 1817 and 1807 what was the ter- 
ritorial growth of this country ? 42. How much more was 
this than that any other nation during this time ? 43. How 
much more than that of all other nations put together dur- 
ing the same time ? 44. How dues Mitchel speak of this ? 
45. Emile de Girardin ? 40. The Dublin Nation ? 47. By 
what must the nation that has thus been coming up be 
symbolized ( 48. In what manner has this been accom- 



52 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

13: 11, means to grow like a plant out of the earth. 

And respecting the rise of these United States, the 
Dublin Nation says: "No standing army was raised, 
no national debt sunk, no great exertion was made, 
but there they are." G. A. Townsend, " New World 
Compared with the Old," p. 462, speaks of "the mys- 
tery of our coming forth from vacancy." Again he 
says, p. 635: "The history of the United States was 
separated by a beneficent Providence far from the 
wild and cruel history of the rest of the continent, 
and like a silent seed we grew into empire." Edward 
Everett spoke of the "peaceful conquest" through 
which the banners of the cross have here been borne 
over mighty regions. Mark how wonderfully this 
harmonizes with the language of the prophecy, which 
says this power was to come up like a plant out of 
the earth. 

6. This power had two horns like a lamb. This 
at once suggests two things: the youthfulness of the 
power, and an innocent or lamb-like profession em- 
bodied in two great principles. Just these features 
our own government exhibits, in the great princi- 
ples of civil and religious liberty, which it guaran- 
tees to all citizens. America is recognized as the 
youngest among the nations. The motto of the 
Egyptian exhibit at the Centennial was, " The old- 
est nation of the earth to the youngest sends greet- 
ing." These two features, youth and a lamb-like 

plished ? 49. What does the word translated "coming up" 
mean? 50. What is the testimony of the Dublin Nation on 
this point ? 51. How does Mr. G. A. Townsend speak of it ? 
52. What terms does Edward Everett use? 53. How do 
these expressions compare with the prophecy ? 54. What do 
the two horns of this symbol suggest % 55. What two great 
principles in this government answer to these 1 56. What is 



REVELATION TWELVE AND THIRTEEN. 53 

exterior, are found in our own government, but in 
no other. 

7. This beast has no crowns upon its horns, show- 
ing that it does not represent a kingly or monarch- 
ical form of government. Ours is the only nota- 
ble government answering to this specification. 

8. It represents some government where the 
power is in the hands of the people ; for when any 
acts are to be performed, it says to them that dwell 
on the earth that they should do it. Rev. 13 : 14. It 
is, in other words, a republic ; and this points unmis- 
takably to our own government. 

9. It is also a Protestant government, or at least 
a non-Catholic power; for it causes them which 
occupy its territory to worship the first beast, which 
denotes Catholicism. But if it was a Catholic coun- 
try it would be the beast itself, and worshiping the 
beast would be worshiping itself. But the two- 
horned beast enforces the worship of a power dis- 
tinct from itself; and that power being Catholicism, 
the beast itself symbolized not a Catholic, but a 
Protestant country. 

10. He doeth great wonders, real miracles, makes 
fire come down from heaven, and deceives them that 
dwell on the earth. In Rev. 19: 20 the same works, 
wrought for .the same purpose, are ascribed to the 
false prophet. The two-horned beast and the false 

shown by the fact that this beast has no crowns upon his 
horns ? 57. Is our own government such an one 1 58. What 
proves that the law-making power is in the hands of the 
people ? 59. What form of government must it therefore be ? 
60. Does this fix it to our own government 1 61. What kind 
of a government is it shown to be in regard to its religion, 
and why ? 62. What remarkable acts does it perform '] 63. 
To whom are the same works ascribed in Rev. 19 : 20 1 64. 



54 SYNOPSIS OF THE PEESENT TRUTH. 

prophet are therefore the same power. But Rev. 
16: 13, 14 shows that the agency by which the false 
prophet works his miracles is the spirits of devils 
that go forth for this purpose. A wonderful work, 
wrought by spirits of devils, is therefore another 
feature of this power. And behold it has made its 
appearance in modern Spiritualism, which has arisen 
in this country, and from this point has spread to 
all the nations of the earth. 

Considering these facts, that the power repre- 
sented by the two- horned beast must be located in 
this hemisphere, and be just coming into notoriety 
about the year 1798, and be a lamb-like power, re- 
publican in form of government, and Protestant in 
religion, and the place where the wonder workings 
of Spiritualism should first spring forth, and one 
that should make such progress as has no parallel 
in the history of nations, — can any one for a mo- 
ment doubt that our government is the one repre- 
sented ? No reason can be given why any nation 
should be noticed in prophecy, which will not apply 
in a pre-eminent degree to our own nation. 

What remains to be fulfilled, is embodied princi- 
pally in two propositions: This power is to cause 
an image to be made to the beast, and to enforce the 
reception of the mark of the beast. An image to 
the beast must be something resembling the beast. 
The beast, Catholicism, was a church clothed with 



What relation do the two-horned beast and false prophet 
therefore have to each other ? 65. By what agency does the 
false prophet work the miracles ? Reference. 60. What is 
therefore revealed to us as another feature of this two-horned 
beast 1 67. In what has this made its ap} earance ? 08 
What remains to be fulfilled 1 69. What must an image of 
the beast be ? 70. What was the beast \ 71. Can we look 



REVELATION TWELVE AND THIRTEEN. 55 

civil power. An ecclesiastical organization clothed 
with civil power would bear some resemblance to it, 
or be an image of it. A State church in this land 
of multiplied sects, is probably an impossibility. 
How, then, can we have here such an image ? There 
can be a union formed on such points as the differ- 
ent religious denominations hold in common. The 
principal of these are three : 1. The first day of the 
week as the Sabbath, adored from various stand- 
points and under different titles as the Lord's Day, 
the Christian Sabbath, the American Sabbath, etc. 
2. The Immortality of the Soul. 3. Water Baptism. 
The question of such a union among the churches, 
under the seductive title of a "Union in Christ" is 
now extensively agitated. Papers are published in 
the interest of the movement and earnest advocates 
are devoting to it their best powers. It finds a 
strong undercurrent of favor in all the churches. 

The movement in reference to the mark is equally 
advanced, and bears more openly upon its face its 
evident design. This will be apparent from a brief 
consideration of what the mark is, and the move- 
ment now on foot in reference to it. 

What is the mark of the beast ? It is not of 
course a literal mark. Prophecy would not couple 
together a symbolic beast, and a literal mark of that 
beast. Marks were sometimes used by generals 
and masters in ancient times to distinguish their 
followers and servants. The mark of the beast must 



for a State church here 1 72. In what way then can we 
have such an image 1 73. Is the question of the union of 
the churches on common points of faith already agitated and 
urged ? 74. What can be said of the movement in reference 
to the mark ? 75. Is the mark of the beast a literal mark ? 
76. How were marks sometimes used anciently ? 77. What 



56 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

be some institution of the beast which will distin- 
guish its followers. But we show ourselves follow- 
ers or servants of any power only by obeying its 
authority; and authority is always manifested 
through law. 

From what other company are the followers of 
the beast distinguished ? From the followers of 
God; inasmuch as the warning which goes forth 
against the worship of the beast and the reception 
of his mark is designed to keep men loyal to the re- 
quirements of Heaven. " Here are they," says the 
third message, " which keep the commandments of 
God." But we can show ourselves followers of God 
only by keeping his law. Therefore the issue in 
reference to which the third message warns us is a 
conflict between the law of God and the law of this 
beast power, by our action toward which we are to 
show ourselves either the worshipers of the beast or 
the followers of God. 

This accords with the prophecies which reveal the 
leading characteristic of this Catholic power, in con- 
nection with which we must of course look for the 
mark of that power. Daniel, describing it under the 
symbol of the little horn of the fourth beast of his 
seventh chapter, says: "He shall think to change 
times and laws." Dan. 7 : 25. The Septuagint, 
German, and Danish translations read, "the law." 
Here is meant unquestionably the law of God. 

then must be the mark of the beast 1 78. How is authority 
always manifested? 79. How is it shown that the mark 
distinguishes beast worshipers from the worshipers of God ? 
80. With what prophecies does this harmonize ? 81. What 
does Daniel say of this power 1 82. What is the reading of 
the Septuagint, German, and Danish translations? 86. 
What law is intended ? 84u How does Paul sueak of the 



&EVELATION TWELVE AND THIRTEEN. 57 

Among the works of this power we shall therefore 
find this attempt to change the law of God. Paul 
states of him the same thing. He speaks of him in 
2 Thess. 2 as the man of sin, son of perdition, etc., 
and says that he would endeavor to exalt himself 
above all that is called God, or that is worshiped. 
How could he do this ? He could do it in no other 
way but by promulgating a law which conflicts 
with the law of God. To do this independently of 
the law of God, would be to show himself professedly 
opposed to God, which this power is not to do; for 
Paul says that he would sit in the temple of God, 
and show himself that he is God, or set himself forth 
as God. He must therefore take hold of the law of 
God and change it, and demand obedience to the 
change, as if God was its author. And this is just 
what Daniel said he would think to do; that is, to 
change the law of God. 

The mark of the beast is therefore simply this 
change which he has attempted to make in the law 
of God. And what is this ? We take testimony 
from its own mouth. See Catholic Catechisms. It 
is its change of the fourth commandment, wherein 
it has put the first day of the week in place of the 
seventh, which God has not ceased to enjoin. And 
this Catholic power has not contented itself with 
simply making this change, but it admits that God 
has never enjoined it and that the Scriptures do not 
sanction it; and further, it sets it forth as an evi- 
dence of its right to legislate in divine things. The 



same power % 85. What is the only way in which this power 
could exalt itself above God 1 86. How does this answer to 
the words of Daniel ? 87. What is therefore the mark of the 
beast 1 88. What change has this power attempted to make 
in the law of God 1 ? 89. What questions and answers are 



58 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

following is a representative question on this point, 
found in the Catholic catechism called, " Abridgment 
of Christian Doctrine." 

" Ques. How prove you that the church hath 
power to command feasts and holy days ? 

" Ans. By the very act of changing the Sabbath 
into Sunday, which Protestants allow of ; and there- 
fore they fondly contradict themselves by keeping 
Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts 
commanded by the same church. 

" Ques. How prove you that ? 

" Ans. Because by keeping Sunday they acknowl- 
edge the church's power to ordain feasts and com- 
mand them under sin." 

See also Andrews' History of the Sabbath, and 
the following Catholic works: Treatise of Thirty 
Controversies, Cath. Catechism of Christian Relig- 
ion, Catholic Christian Instructed, and Doctrinal 
Catechism. 

That the Catholic power is symbolized by the lit- 
tle horn of Dan. 7, is beyond question. The proph- 
ecy said that it should think to change the law 
of God; and it steps forth and acknowledges the 
act. What further evidence can be required ? He 
who, therefore, with the light before him, and the 
issue pressed upon him between God and this 
wicked power, deliberately decides to keep the insti- 
tution of the beast instead of the commandments of 
God, worships the beast and receives his mark. 

We know the objection which will here immedi- 
ately fly to the lips of an opponent. He will say, 



found in the Abridgment of Christian Doctrine 1 90. What 
works give testimony in proof of this position? 91. How- 
then can a person worship the beast and receive his mark ? 



REVELATION TWELVE AND THIRTEEN. 59 

Then all Sunday-keepers, past or present, however 
eminent as servants of God, have had, or now have, 
the mark of the beast. And we as quickly answer, 
Not one. Why ? Because they have not kept it, 
and are not keeping it, with the issue before them 
presented in the prophecy. They have supposed 
they were keeping the fourth commandment accord- 
ing to the will of God. But flashes of truth in these 
closing hours of time are to dispel all such darkness 
from every honest mind, and show this work in its 
true light. And this institution, although in itself 
the mark of the beast, does not become such in any 
individual case, till such individual adopts it under 
the pressure of human laws, well knowing it to be 
a human institution set forth in opposition to the 
law of God. 

Such is the issue against which the third message 
now warns us. And the message is not premature ; 
for this issue is evidently soon to come. Already 
an Association including among its officers, State 
governors, senators, chief justices, presidents of col- 
leges, and any number of doctors of divinity, has 
been formed to secure by legal enactments the ob- 
servance of the first day of the week as the Sabbath. 
They call for a religious amendment to the consti- 
tution, of such a nature that "all Christian laws, 
institutions, and usages shall be put upon an undeni- 
able legal basis in the fundamental law of the land." 

This movement originated in Xenia, O., in Feb., 
1863, in a convention composed of eleven different 
relioious denominations. National conventions have 



92. What objection is urged at this point ? 93. How is it 
answered 1 94. What issue is soon to come ? 95. What 
Association is already formed ? 96. For what do they call 1 
97. When and where did this movement originate ? 98. On 



60 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTfl. 

been held in Allegheny, Pa., New York City, Pitts- 
burg, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, 
and other places. At the convention in Pittsburg, 
Feb. 4, 1874, there were 1,073 delegates present 
representing 18 States. 

Many affect to scout the idea that such a move- 
ment will ever succeed, and the arm of persecution 
be raised in this country to enforce so-called Chris- 
tian usages under the penalties of law. But the 
idea that it should now succeed is no more strange 
than was the idea a few years ago that any such 
movement would be made as we now see already 
accomplished. That Sunday-keeping will ever be 
enforced by law, from any real religious convictions 
on the part of a majority of the people would be 
perhaps too much to expect. Even the barbarous 
institution of slavery did not yield to moral forces, 
but fell only as a political necessity. So it would 
be nothing strange nor improbable if circumstances 
should so shape in the near future that a religio- 
political compromise should bring forth the Sunday 
law full fledged. But we need not speculate as to 
methods. There is the prophecy which cannot be 
broken. Religious questions are fast entering into 
the arena of politics, and there is an irrepressible 
conflict between present Christian usages and the 
claims of infidelity, which cannot cease till the Con- 
stitution shall become wholly infidel or wholly 
conformed to nominal Christianity. Infidel it can 
never become so long as a union of Protestants and 
Catholics can carry any measure upon which they 
may agree. We therefore look for it to become the 
instrument of that type of Christianity which the 
Amendmentists desire to legalize. 

what ground will the Sunday law probably be enacted 1 99. 



REVELATION TWELVE AND THIRTEEN 



61 



With these acts in reference to the image and the 
mark, the career of this power closes. This is the last 
conflict into Avhich the people of God are brought. 
They are next seen victorious on Mt. Zion with the 
lamb. And this two-horned beast, as the false 
prophet, in company with the beast (Catholicism) 
before which he has wrought his miracles, goes as a 
living power into the lake of fire, at the great day. 



Where are the people of God next seen ? 
fate of this beast I 



100. What is the 



CHAPTER VIII 



The Sabbath. 

As we have seen that the third angel's message 
brings out a company who are distinguished as 
keepers of the commandments of God, the inquiry 
is a natural one in what respect obedience to the 
message would lead a person to differ with other 
religionists in his efforts to keep the commandments. 
The only essential controversy in regard to the com- 
mandments among those who hold them to be still 
binding has reference to that precept which enjoins 
the Sabbath. If in order to keep the command- 
ments we must keep the seventh day of the week, 
and almost all professors of religion are keeping the 
first day of the week, here is a distinction as marked 
as the language of the third message would lead us 
to infer. Thus is our attention called directly to 
the Sabbath by the third angel's message, as well as 
by the subject of the sanctuary. 

And there is consistency in this; for as the first 
message brought us to the hour of God's Judgment, 
or the cleansing of the sanctuary, when the temple 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER EIGHT. 

1. By what are believers in the third angel's message dis- 
tinguished ? 2. What inquiry does this suggest / 3. On 
what one of the commandments is there a difference of opin- 
ion? 4. To what is our attention thus called by the mes- 
sage ? 5. To "what did the first message bring us I 6. What 
[62] 



THE SABBATH. 63 

of God was opened in Heaven, the ark was seen, 
and the attention of the people was called to the 
law contained in the ark, the third message which 
follows the first, and is the representative of the 
truth during the period of the cleansing of the 
sanctuary, ought of consistency to bring out the 
same fact respecting the law; and w T e see that it 
does. 

The evidence is now r in order, to show that the 
seventh day is still the Sabbath of the Lord, and 
must be kept as such. The only command in all 
the Bible for the observance of the Sabbath is the 
fourth precept of the decalogue. But the nine 
other precepts are moral and hence immutable and 
eternal. Even those who contend for the abolition 
of the law, would not dare to advocate in any civ- 
ilized community, that men were not under obliga- 
tion to do or refrain from doing, just what those 
commandments say. Is the Sabbath like these 
others, immutable and perpetual? If not, why was 
it put in with these as one of them ? and again, if 
not, what reasons can be given to show w T hy and in 
what respect it is not like them? 

The Sabbath commandment is the only one in 
which God has seen fit to set forth the reason why 
it was given. It is therefore more explicit than the 
others. Respecting the others we may necessarily 
infer that they existed from the beginning of the 
world, but respecting the Sabbath we know that it 



time is covered by the third message ? 7. What truth should 
we therefore expect it to bring out? 8. What and where is 
the only commandment in all the Bible for the observance of 
the Sabbath? 9. What is the nature of the other nine pre- 
cepts ] 10. Is the Sabbath commandment like these ? 11. 
In what respect is it more explicit than the others 1 12, 



64 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TKUTH. 

dates from the beginning, from the record itself. 
The fourth commandment points back to the cre- 
ation: " For in six days the Lord made heaven and 
earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested 
the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the 
Sabbath day and hallowed it." This day we are to 
remember and keep holy. It is a marvel that any 
one should consider this commandment indefinite, 
enjoining only a seventh part of time, or an institu- 
tion independent of a day. The act of God in rest- 
ing had reference to a day. The blessing and 
sanctification had reference to a clay. It is a day 
that we are required to keep, and it is the particular 
day on which he rested. Let those who call it 
indefinite tell us how it could be more definite than 
it is. 

Turning to the record to which the fourth com- 
mandment points us, Gen. 2:2, we read that "on 
the seventh day God ended his work which he had 
made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanc- 
tified it ; because that in it he had rested from all his 
work which God created and made." God per- 
formed no part of his work on the seventh day. 
The fourth commandment says that he made the 
heavens and the earth and all that in them is in six 
days, which would not be the case if he made any 
portion of them on the seventh day. Dr. Clarke 
says that the Septuagint, Syriac, and Samaritan 
versions read sixth day in Gen. 2 : 2, instead of sev- 

Which way does the fourth commandment point? 13. Is 
there any such thing as a Sabbatic institution independent of 
a day ? 14. To what did the act of resting, blessing, and sanc- 
tifying have reference? 15. How could the commandment 
be made more definite than it is ? 1G. Did God perform any 
part of his work on the seventh day ? 17. How is this shown 
by the fourth commandment ? 18. What is the meaning of the 



THE SABBATH. 65 

enth day. But such a criticism is unnecessary, and 
it is not best to plead for a different translation un- 
less there is clear and urgent reason for so doing. 
The expression in verse 3, "in it he rested," means 
the same as in verse 2, "on it he ended his work." 
It means simply that on that day, and during that 
day, he ceased from his creative work. The entire 
day was devoted to rest; and this was the first es- 
sential act toward the Sabbatic institution. This 
made it the Lord's rest-day, but laid no obligation 
on men concerning it. He then blessed it. This 
did not pertain to the day that was past; for past 
time cannot be blessed; but it referred to the sev- 
enth day for time to come. Every seventh day 
from that time was a blessed day. This would in- 
dicate how it should be regarded ; but the next act 
completed the work: He sanctified it. Sanctify 
means to set apart to a holy use. This could not 
pertain to the day that was past, but to the seventh 
day for time, to come. It was not set apart for 
God's use; for he needs no such day; but Christ 
said it was made for man. This sanctification was 
therefore the giving of a command to Adam for its 
observance. The claim of Sabbath opponents that 
there is no command in the Bible for the observance 
of the Sabbath till Sinai, falls to the ground; for 
here is the record that such a commandment was 
given. And all the human race then received that 

expression, " On the seventh day God ended his work" ? 19. 
What was the first essential act toward a Sabbatic institution? 
20. What was the second ? 21. What completed the edifice? 
22. What is the meaning of the word sanctify;? 23. To what 
did this sanctification pertain ? 24 For whose use was the 
Sabbath made ? 25. What was this sanctification ? 26. 
What can be said of the claim that no command existed 
before Sinai? 27. Who received that commandment ? 28. 



66 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

command through Adam and Eve their representa- 
tives. And this sanctification of necessity intro- 
duced the weekly cycle; for Adam must begin to 
reckon as soon as the commandment was given; 
and when the next seventh day was past he must 
begin his count again, and so on. The week owes 
its origin to these facts. It can be traced to no 
other. 

The Sabbath was not a type; for all types look 
forward to a work of redemption, and of course 
could not be introduced till redemption was needed, 
and till some plan of redemption had been insti- 
tuted. But the Sabbath was given to Adam before 
he sinned, before he needed any redemption, and 
before any system of redemption was devised. Had 
Adam never sinned, he never would have needed 
redemption, and no type would ever have been in- 
troduced. But he would still have had the Sabbath 
as recorded in Gen. 2:2, 3. The Sabbath, therefore, 
was not a type. 

The Sabbath not being a type, the commandment 
for the Sabbath is not a typical law. There are 
plainly two kinds of laws: one class binding on 
man before he fell, regulating his duty to God and 
to his fellow-men ; the other class growing out of 
the changed condition of man after he had fallen 
and the plan of salvation had been introduced. If 
man had never fallen, it would have been his duty 
just the same to render supreme honor to God, and 
to deal justly with his fellow-men. But if he had 

What did this sanctification introduce ? 29. Why 1 30. 
Was the Sabbath a type 1 31. To what do all types look ? 
32. When could they be introduced 1 33. On this ground 
how is it shown that the Sabbath was not a type 1 34. What 
two kinds of laws are plainly brought to view in the Bible 1 
35. What would have been man's duty if he had never t 



THE SABBATH. 67 

never fallen, there never would have been any laws 
regulating ceremonies, sacrifices, offerings, baptism, 
the Lord's supper, etc. These all grow out of man's 
necessities in consequence of his fall. The first may 
be called original or primary laws; and they are, in 
the very nature of things, immutable and eternal; 
the others are derived, secondary or typical laws, 
and are temporary and changeable. No one has 
any excuse for ignoring or denying a distinction so 
plain. 

The transgression of Adam did not change or 
abolish any of these primary laws. We are under 
no less obligation to God and our fellow-men than 
if we were not sinners. To which of these classes 
of laws does the Sabbath belong? To the original 
and primary laws which we should have had even 
if man never had fallen. It is therefore an immut- 
able and perpetual institution. 

The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week as it 
is reckoned at the present time. The fourth com- 
mandment does not, to be sure, use the term week, 
and say the seventh day of the week; but its 
appeal to the record of the great facts of creation 
for its oi'igin, where the week is defined and the 
seventh day of that week is the one set apart as the 
Sabbath, makes it just as explicit. To quibble over 
the absence of the word week in the commandment, 
as we have frequently known ministers to do who 



fallen ? 36. Would there then have been any laws of cere- 
monies and sacrifices ? 37. What may the first of these laws 
be called 1 38. What the second 1 39. Did Adam's trans- 
gression change or abolish any of the primary laws 1 40. To 
which of these classes does the Sabbath belong 1 41. What 
does this prove ? 42. Is the Sabbath the seventh day of the 
week as now reckoned ? 43. How does the fourth command- 
ment define the day of the week 1 44. How does it further 



68 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

even professed to be candid, is the thinnest kind of 
sophistry, to use no harder term ; for of what is it 
the seventh day? Not the seventh day of the 
month, or of the year; not a seventh day, nor 
every seventh day, allowing us to begin where we 
will to reckon; but the seventh day of some definite 
cycle of time. And inasmuch as we have in the 
Bible a division of time given us, consisting of just 
seven days, the shortest of all which consist of a 
number of days, to say that the seventh day of the 
commandment is not the seventh day of this divis- 
ion, or week, is to go in the clearest manner con- 
trary to reason. 

But it is asked if the reckoning of the week has 
not been lost; in other words, can we now tell 
which is the true seventh day from creation? Once 
admitting that the seventh day in regular succession 
is what is required, and there is no difficulty. It 
could easily be handed down from Adam to Abra- 
ham, and from Abraham to Moses. But if any- 
thing was out of the way then, God would have set 
them right when he gave them a written copy of 
his law. By three distinct miracles wrought every 
week for the space of forty years, God pointed out 
what day he meant in the commandment; and it 
was the seventh day of the Jewish week. From 
Moses to Christ there was certainly no derangement 
in the reckoning. They had the true seventh day 
at that point; and if there had been any mistake 

appear that it means the seventh day of the week ? 45. What 
question is next raised ? 46. Was there any danger of losing 
the reckoning from Adam to Moses? 47. How did God then 
point out the day of the commandment 1 48. How is it 
shown that the true day was preserved to the time of Christ? 
49. Has there been any loss of time or derangement of weeks 






THE SABBATH. 69 

then, Christ, the Son of God, would have known it 
and set them right. But instead of this he indorsed 
the day they then observed. From the days of 
Christ to the present time the methods of computing- 
time have been too accurate, the custom too wide 
spread, and the agreement too perfect, to admit for 
a moment of the idea of any loss of time, or de- 
rangement of the week. Therefore the week as we 
now reckon it, is the same as at the creation, and 
the seventh day of our week is the true seventh 
day from creation down. 

It is supposed by some that the change from Old 
Style to New must have changed the reckoning of 
the week. A few facts will show that this is a mis- 
take. Old and New Styles are simply methods of 
reckoning time according to the Julian and Grego- 
rian calendars. Old Style follows the Julian man- 
ner of reckoning months and days, or the calendar 
by Julius Caesar, in which every fourth year consists 
of 366 days, and the other years of 365 days. This 
is something more than 11 minutes too much in the 
year; and by the time of pope Gregory XIII. in 
1582, It had so disarranged the months as to throw 
the vernal equinox 10 days from where it was at 
the council of Nice, A. D. 325. To bring it back, 10 
days were taken out of October, 1582, and the 5th 
day of the month was reckoned as the 15th. Greg- 
ory then reformed the calendar so that such a de- 
rangement would not again occur, by having every 
year which is divisible by 4, unless divisible by 100 
without being divisible by 400, consist of 366 days, 
and all other years of 365 days. This makes the 
calendar year coincide so nearly with the solar, that 

since? 50. Explain the difference between Old Style and 



70 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

the lapse of centuries makes scarcely any appreciable 
difference. This is called the Gregorian calendar, 
and reckoning time by it is called New Style. This 
change was not adopted by Great Britain till 1751. 
Then so much time had been gained that to bring 
the matter right 11 days had to be dropped. 
Therefore in the following year, 1752, the 3d of 
September was reckoned as the 14th; and New 
Style has since been followed there, and from there 
brought to America. It will be seen that this sim- 
ply changed the day of the month, but not the day 
of the week. For instance, to-day, Sept. 14, 1882, 
is Thursday ; if we should drop 7 days and call it 
Sept. 21, it would be Thursday still. * Russia still 
reckons by Old Style, and her week corresponds 
with ours. 

Another attempt is made to nullify the force of 
the record of Gen. 2:2, 3. It is claimed that the 
seventh day which God blessed was the first day of 
Adam's existence, and hence the point where the 
reckoning should commence. If that was the point 
at which to commence, doubtless Moses, guided by 
the Spirit of inspiration, would have comrffenced 
there. But it so happens that he commenced the 
reckoning six days before, and has given it to us day 
by day down to that point. How is it that modern 
expositors have come to be so wise above what is 
written? We can answer: They couldn't oppose 
the Sabbath in any other way. To make this posi- 
tion of any force, the ground must be taken that 
Adam's first day was the first day. of time. Then 

New. 51. What is another attempt to destroy the force of 
Gen. 2:2, 3 ? 52. Where does Moses begin to reckon 1 53. 
According to the position of our opponents, when was the 
creation performed \ 54. How is time distinguished from eter- 



THE SABBATH. 71 

all that went before was eternity. God created the 
world and all things therein, not in the beginning, 
but in eternity. But time as distinguished from 
eternity is duration measured, eternity being un- 
measured duration; and these days of creation are 
measured off to us, and hence belong to time and 
not to eternity. What blind presumption for men 
to set a point from which to reckon different from 
that which the Bible has given us ! 

But the assumption of this objection is entirely 
false: the seventh day was not the first day of 
Adam's existence; nothing of the kind. When was 
Adam created ? On the sixth day. All the animals 
were then brought to him and he named them ; no 
small amount of work. Then he was put to sleep 
while Eve was created. After that a marriage 
ceremony took place. And then followed instruc- 
tion to Adam and Eve in regard to their manner of 
life, means of support, extent of dominion, etc., 
before Moses declares that the evening and the 
morning were the sixth day. Surely here was 
enough to occupy the greater part of that day, yet 
so anxious are people to oppose the Sabbath that 
they will tell us that the next day was the first day 
of Adam's existence. What! Adam married before 
he had an existence ! If any, still inclined to urge 
this ghost of an excuse, should plead that the sev- 
enth day of the record was Adam's first complete 
day, then we ask them why they do not celebrate 
American independence on July 5 instead of July 
4, as July 5, 1776, was the first complete day of our 
independence. This objection cannot be made to 

nity 1 55. On what day was Adam created 1 56. What else 
was done on that day \ 57. What shall be said then of the 
view that the seventh was Adam's first day? 58. What 



72 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

stand, however men may try to bolster it up. It is 
the imbecile offspring of prejudice and folly. 

Again it is said that Moses, writing after God 
had spoken the ten commandments, stated in Gen. 
2 : 2, 3 what was done on the seventh day, not at 
creation, but at Sinai. That is, Gen. 2 : 2 states 
what took place on the first seventh day of time, 
but verse three without any change in the narrative, 
or any intimation that other than a consecutive 
order of events is introduced, narrates what took 
place 2500 years afterward. This view is fabricated 
by those who claim that the Sabbath originated at 
Sinai. It is very evident from what source it 
springs. The wish is father to the thought. To 
barely state a view which rests so utterly on as- 
sumption, and is so contrary to the whole tenor of 
the narrative, ought to be sufficient. There is not 
the slightest intimation that God blessed and for 
the first time set apart the day of the Sabbath at 
Sinai. The record in Genesis states in the same 
style of narrative that God rested on the seventh 
day, and that he blessed and sanctified it. God did 
not perform the act of resting, certainly, at Sinai; 
the resting was done at creation ; then upon what 
ground or authority does any one throw in between 
the sentences of an unbroken narrative a period of 
2500 years and place the resting at Sinai, when 
there is not an item of evidence to show that any 
resting there took place ? It is evident that the 
resting took place at the creation, and the blessing 
and sanctification immediately thereafter; and if 

other objection is now urged ? 59. Is there any intimation 
of such a change in the record 1 60. What is the object of 
this view ? 61. Did God rest on the seventh day or bless the 



THE SABBATH. 73 

the day was not to be used till Sinai, we leave with 
our friends another question: Why was all this 
done so long beforehand ? 

There is another objection coming to be urged by 
a certain class very frequently and with a great 
deal of assurance; and that is, that the record of 
God's rest upon the seventh day has nothing to do 
in fixing a weekly Sabbath ; for those days are not 
literal days, but immense periods of time, as is proved 
by geology. And they affect to look with great 
disdain upon any one who will not acknowledge so 
notable a scientific fact. It can readily be seen that 
this contradicts the Bible ; and this many so-called 
geologists are doubtless very willing to do. But 
even some professed defenders of the word of God 
have been frightened by this bugbear of geology into 
an admission that these days are great periods, and 
then gone into a theological St. Vitus' dance to harmo- 
nize it with the record. Into a controversy with geol- 
ogy it is not our purpose here to enter further than 
to deny in toto what they call conclusions and we 
call guess-work, and challenge the proof. In their 
conclusions geologists assume that the results which 
modern research has discovered, have been produced 
in ages past by such agencies only as we see at work 
at the present time. And right here their theory 
breaks down; for that is what cannot be proved. 
The Master Mind in Nature's great laboratory may 
in remote ages have called into action potent agen- 
cies to produce in a short space certain results which 
by any process now going forward it would take 

day at Sinai ? 62. If not to be kept till Sinai, why was the 
Sabbath blessed so long beforehand 1 63. What objection is 
raised on the authority of geology I 64. How is it answered ? 



74 SYNOPSIS OF THE PEESENT TRUTH. 

ages to accomplish. To reason from that which is 
present and known to that which is past and un- 
known, is illogical. The premise being assumed, the 
conclusion is but an assumption also. And after all 
the ludicrous mistakes which geologists have made, 
attributing a pre-Adamic age to bricks found in the 
delta of the Nile, which subsequent investigations 
proved belonged to the age of the later Pharaohs, 
and dancing with delight over the immense antiq- 
uity of a strange piece of wood found in the delta 
of the Mississippi, which was found upon a little 
more careful scrutiny to be the gunwale of a Ken- 
tucky flat-boat, they ought to be a little modest in 
their assertions. 

• It will be enough for Bible believers to test this 
claim on the age of Adam, and dismiss it. Adam 
was created on the sixth day, the sixth long period, 
the geologists would say. He lived all that period 
through, his life covering probably the greater part 
of it. He then lived the seventh day, or entirely 
through the seventh long period. By this time he 
must have been many hundred thousand years old. 
The record then goes on with his history, introdu- 
cing the birth of Cain, Abel, and Seth, and when he 
came to die, lo, he was all of nine hundred and thirty 
years old! Where now are the long periods during 
which he lived ? Vanished into the moonshine from 
which they venture now and then to flaunt them- 
selves. 

So far as the record in Gen. 2:2, 3 is concerned, 
the field is now cleared of every objection. All the 
raiders upon that citadel of truth are repulsed. The 
record stands in its native strength and simplicity. 
The six days of creation were such days as we now 

65. How does the record of Gen. 2 now stand ? 66. Give a 



THE SABBATH. To 

have, ruled by the sun, determined by a revolution 
of the earth upon its axis. The seventh of these 
was, devoted by the Creator to rest. It was set 
apart to be thus used by man. A command was 
given to Adam, and through him to all his posterity 
to keep it. It was not a temporary nor a typical 
institution, but designed to last through all time, 
like other primary institutions. These facts are 
established ; and we might rest the whole Sabbath 
question right here; for if these stand, as they 
surely do, and will, the Sabbath stands. It was all 
right in the beginning, gleaming like a coronet on 
the fair brow of a creation unsullied by sin ; and if 
men had always kept it, the world would have pre- 
sented a very different moral and religious aspect 
"from what it does to-day ; for men never could be- 
come idolaters so long as they remembered to wor- 
ship the Creator of all things ; and we should not, 
as we do to-day, behold the sad spectacle of seven 
hundred millions of idolators, whose dark abodes are 
the habitations of cruelty. 

But leaving the creation with its established facts 
and explicit record, we are willing to follow the 
Sabbath opponent to all his strongholds, and can- 
didly weigh, and compare with Scripture, his strong- 
est arguments. Taking us to Neh. 9:13, 14, he 
says that the Sabbath was not known nor given to 
the children of Israel before God spoke it from 
Sinai; for Nehemiah says: "Thou earnest down also 
upon Mount Sinai, and spakest with them from 
heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true 

synopsis of the facts established. 67. What effect would it 
have had upon the world if all men had always kept the Sab- 
bath as God designed ? 68. What position of the Sabbath op- 
ponent is next noticed ? Reference. 69. What is the difficulty 



76 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TEUTH. 

laws, good statutes and commandments; and mad- 
est known unto them thy holy Sabbath, and com- 
mandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws by the 
hand of Moses thy servant." The only trouble with 
the conclusion drawn from this passage is, that it is 
contradicted by other scriptures. Thus, Ex. 16 
gives an account of the Hebrews' having the Sab- 
bath in the second month after their departure from 
Egypt. When God would prove his people to see 
whether they would walk in his law or no, he took 
the Sabbath as the one with which to test their 
obedience, reproving some who in their unbelief 
and rebellion went out to gather manna on the 
Sabbath by saying, "How long refuse ye to keep 
my commandments and my laws?" This is not the 
language that would be used with reference to laws 
new-made and then for the first time introduced. 
But this was thirty-three days before the law was 
spoken from Sinai. Therefore the Sabbath was not 
first made known to them from Sinai, as it is 
claimed from Neh. 9:13, 14. How then shall the 
statements of Nehemiah be harmonized with the 
record of Ex. 16 ? Our opponents make a contra- 
diction between these two chapters by giving a 
wrong meaning to the words " made known " in Neh. 
9: 14. These words do not mean that the Sabbath 
was then for the first time brought to their knowl- 
edge, but only that it was more especially unfolded 
to them by the commandment's being spoken with 
the voice of God in their hearing, and a copy of it 
placed in then hands written with his own finger. 



with his conclusion ? 70. What does Exodus 16 show? 71. 
How long was this before the law was spoken on Sinai? 72. 
How do our opponents make a contradiction between Ex. 16 
and Neh. 9? 73. What does the expression "made known," 



THE SABBATH. 77 

In Eze. 20: 5, God says that he made himself known 
unto them in the land of Egypt, when he lifted up 
his hand unto them saying, "I am the Lord your 
God." This does not mean that they then for the 
first time received a knowledge of God; for they 
already knew and revered him. Ex. 1:17. It 
simply means that he then gave a more intimate 
revelation of himself to them ; and it only means the 
same in reference to the Sabbath in Neh. 9 : 13, 14. 
It is further urged in behalf of the idea that the 
Sabbath originated at Sinai, that God gave it to the 
Israelites to commemorate their deliverance from 
Egypt. Deut. 5 : 15 is quoted to prove this: "And 
remember that thou wast a servant in the land of 
Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out 
thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched 
out arm; therefore the Lord thy God commanded 
thee to keep the Sabbath day." This is not the 
original Sabbath commandment, but a rehearsal by 
Moses of God's dealings with that people, as he was 
about to leave them. It was 40 years after the law 
had been given by the voice of God on Mount Sinai. 
Moses intimates as much by referring them back to 
the commandment. See verse 12: "Keep the Sab- 
bath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath 
commanded thee." Why then is this rehearsal by 
Moses, forty years after the giving of the law, al- 
ways quoted by our opponents instead of the orig- 
inal commandment as found in Ex. 20:8-11? 

in Nehemiah, mean I 74 How is it explained by Eze. 20:5? 
75. What is further urged to prove that the Sabbath origi- 
nated at Sinai ? 76. What text is quoted to prove this ? 77. 
Is this the original commandment ? 78. How long after God 
had spoken the commandment, was this rehearsal by Moses? 
79. Does Moses refer back to the commandment ? 80. Why 
do our opponents appeal to Deut. 5 instead of Ex. 20 to show 



78 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

The answer is obvious: Because in that original 
commandment there is no mention of the coming 
out of Egypt, and hence that would not furnish 
anything which they could torture into proof that 
the Sabbath originated then, and was limited to 
that people. But we submit to every candid and 
honorable mind whether it is a fair method of rea- 
soning thus to ignore the commandment as spoken 
by God, and then endeavor to draw the origin of 
the institution from a rehearsal by Moses, forty years 
afterward. 

But we need not leave the question here. There 
are other duties which certainly did not originate 
then^ and were not confined to that people, but in 
reference to which the same language is used. They 
were commanded not to pervert judgment, nor 
oppress the widow, nor do any unrighteousness, but 
to do all the commandments; and in reference to 
all these, as in reference to the Sabbath, it is said, 
I am the Lord which brought you out of the land, 
therefore I command you to do this thing. See 
Deut. 24:18, 22; Lev. 19:35-37. Why do they 
not use this fact in reference to the other command- 
ments as they do in reference to the Sabbath ? The 
answer again is obvious: They do not want it for 
any except the Sabbath; hence they studiously 
shut their own eyes, or endeavor to shut the eyes 
of their readers, to all the others. But the argu- 
ment will apply to all alike, and hence proves too 
much for them. 

Having shown that there is no proof in the text 
that the Sabbath was given to that people and con- 
fined to them, because they came out of Egypt, 

the origin of the commandment 1 81. What other duties are 
enjoined for the same reason ? References. 82. Why was 



THE SABBATH. 



79 



since if it proves this, it proves that all the com- 
mandments were given for the same reason, we 
have said all that is demanded of us in this argu- 
ment. But to clear away all doubt it may be re- 
marked that the reference to the deliverance from 
Egypt was simply an appeal to their gratitude. 
They had been in Egyptian bondage, where in all 
probability the severity of their servitude prevented 
their worshiping God in keeping his command- 
ments and ordinances. But now they had been 
delivered from that hard state of bondage into 
perfect freedom. Should they not, therefore, by a 
ready compliance with his will, show their gratitude 
to Him who had delivered them ? Therefore, in 
addition to all other obligations, as their great Bene- 
factor he commanded them to keep the Sabbath, 
not to pervert judgment, nor oppress the widow, 
but to observe all his commandments. 



reference made to the deliverance of Israel from Egypt? 



CHAPTER IX. 



Bible View of the Sabbath. 

We are accused of going back to Moses and fall- 
ing from grace, if we now keep the original Sabbath. 
It is therefore a matter of interest to mark how God 
formerly regarded that practice of Sabbath-keeping 
which some now claim that he considers so heinous 
in his sight. We have seen how the Sabbath was 
instituted in Eden before sin had entered our worl<$, 
and how a law was given for its observance which 
had its place among the primary, immutable, and 
eternal laws. We have seen how at the exode 
God took the Sabbath precept as the one by which 
to test Israel's allegiance to himself. And now we 
mark, further, that he took the Sabbath to be per- 
manently a sign between himself and them: "It is 
a sign between me and you throughout your genera- 
tions; that ye may know that I am the Lord that 
doth sanctify you." Ex. 31:13. It was the pre- 
eminent institution through which was to come his 
acknowledgment of them as his people, and through 
which they were to manifest their recognition of 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER NINE. 

1. What are we accused of going back to if we keep the 

Sabbath 1 2. When was the Sabbath instituted ? 3. Was a 

law then given for its observance ? 4. What use did God 

make of it at the exode ? 5. Where is it declared to be a 

[80] 



BIBLE VIEW OF THE SABBATH. 81 

him as their God. This was to endure throughout 
their generations. When the natural branches were 
broken off, the Gentiles were grafted in, taking the 
place of the severed branches, and keeping the olive- 
tree perfect in all its proportions. Hence the gen- 
erations of Israel are perpetuated in a spiritual seed, 
and the Sabbath is still a sign between God and 
them. A man who does not keep the Sabbath can- 
not show that he is a worshiper of the true God who 
made the heavens and the earth. 

God further sets forth that his honor is involved 
in the keeping of his Sabbath. Isa, 58:13: "If 
thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from 
doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the 
Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, 
and shalt honor Jura, not doing thine own ways, nor 
finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own 
words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord," 
etc. Thus the observance of the Sabbath is not 
merely for man's necessities and his physical good; 
it is to honor God. By keeping it we honor, by dis- 
regarding it we dishonor, the Maker of the heavens 
and the earth. 

The Lord further told the people through- Jere- 
miah what he would do for them if they would 
keep the Sabbath, and what judgments he would 
bring upon them if they would not regard it: "It 
shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me 
saith the Lord to bring" in no burden throuoh the 
gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow 

sign ? 6. What is meant by its being a sign ? 7. How long 
was it to be a sign ? 8. How are the generations of Israel 
still perpetuated ? 9. What does Isaiah show concerning the 
Sabbath ? Reference. 10. What promise did the Lord by 
Jeremiah attach to Sabbath-keeping I 11. What calamity 

6 



&2 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

the Sabbath day to do no work therein ; then shall 
there enter into the gates of this city kings and 
princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in 
chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the 
men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 
and this city shall remain forever. . . . But if 
ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath 
day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at 
the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then 
will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall 
devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be 
quenched." Jer. 17:24, 25, 27. 

And when Jerusalem was overthrown by the 
Babylonians, the record states that it was to fulfill 
the word of the Lord by Jeremiah. 2 Chron. 36: 
17-21. Nehemiah recognizes the same fact in the 
restoration. He says: "There dwelt men of Tyre 
also therein, which brought fish and all manner of 
ware, and sold on the Sabbath unto the children of 
Judah and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with 
the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil 
thing is this that ye do and profane the Sabbath 
day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not God 
bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city ? yet 
ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the 
Sabbath." Neh. 13:16-18. 

Here is an explicit acknowledgment that Jeru- 
salem had been destroyed because their fathers had 
profaned the Sabbath, and that they would bring 
more wrath upon themselves if they continued in its 
violation. This is the way the Sabbath stood, the 

did he threaten upon the Jews for its violation 1 Reference. 
12. When Jerusalem was overthrown, what prediction did it 
fulfill 1 13. What fact does Nehemiah recognize 1 14. What 
is his testimony? Reference. 15. What does this testi- 
mony acknowledge ? 16. How long was the Sabbath held in 



BIBLE VIEW OF THE SABBATH. 83 

light in which it was held, and the promises and 
threatening^ connected with its observance or viola- 
tion, from Moses to Christ. And now can we for a 
moment suppose that such an institution that orig- 
inated in Eden, that was a test of Israel's loyalty 
to God, that was declared to be a sign between God 
and them, and that forever, that was declared to be 
God's peculiar property, holy to him and honorable, 
one in the keeping of which his honor was involved, 
and one which if it had always been kept by that 
people, Jerusalem would have stood to this day, the 
pride and joy of the nation, and the ornament of all 
the earth, — can we suppose that this institution so 
suddenly changed its position and nature at the 
coming of Christ that it became at once the symbol 
of apostasy from God, rejection of Christ, and trust 
in the flesh ? or rather, that God so changed his 
nature that now he abhors that in which he once 
took such delight, and pronounces a curse upon that 
to which he once attached the greatest of blessings ? 
The idea is preposterously absurd ! What imperfect 
ideas of God and his plans, must they have who can 
entertain such a thought ! 

In all the prophecies given in the former dispen- 
sation concerning the present one, and setting forth 
the position of the law and Sabbath under this new 
covenant, and the relation of Christ to these insti- 
tutions, and the effect of his work upon them, the 
perpetuity of the law and the continuance of the 

this high regard ? 17. What is the general view of it in the 
Old Testament ? 18. If the Jews had always properly kept 
the Sabbath, what would have been the condition of Jerusa- 
lem to-day ? 19. In supposing that we now fall from grace 
by keeping this institution, what absurdity is involved ? 20. 
What position do the prophecies of the former dispensation 
assign to the Sabbath in this dispensation ? 21. What place 



84 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 



Sabbath is in the strongest manner affirmed. Thus 
in the prophecy of the new covenant, Jer. 31 : 31-34, 
God promises to write his law in the hearts and 
minds of his people. Instead of being abolished, it 
would thus be enshrined in their inmost affections. 

Again, in the prophecy concerning Christ, it is 
said that he should " magnify the law and make it 
honorable." Isa. 42: 21. This could not be said of 
any law which he had to take out of the way by 
nailing it to his cross. And when Christ came into 
the world, his motives and purpose of action were 
set forth in the following language: "I delight to do 
thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my 
heart." Ps. 40:8; Heb. 10:6, 7. 

There is one prophecy of a change of the law; 
but the power that was to change it, or rather think 
to change it (for that was all he would be able to 
do) was not Christ, but the little horn of the fourth 
beast of Dan. 7, the blasphemous papal power which 
was to speak great words against the Most High, 
wear out the saints of the Most High, and think 
to change times and laws. The secular history of 
the Sabbath will show how this has been attempted, 
and that this prophecy can have been fulfilled in 
nothing but the change of the Sabbath. The feast 
days, new moons, and ceremonial sabbaths which as 
shadows were to cease at the cross, God declared 
that he would take away. Hos. 2:11. 

does the law occupy under the new covenant 1 Reference. 
22. What does Isaiah say that Christ would do to the law ? 
Reference. 23. Could this be said of the ceremonial law, 
and why not '? 24. What is the language of Christ respecting 
the law when he came into the world ? 25. Is there any 
prophecy of the change of the law 1 26. What power was to 
change it? 27. What does the prophet say of the yearly 
sabbaths of the Jews? Reference. 28. In Christ's first 



BIBLE VIEW OF THE SABBATH. 85 

Thus we are brought to the time of Christ ; and 
in his first recorded sermon he speaks thus definitely 
in regard to the law: " Think not that I am come 
to destroy the law or the prophets; I am not come 
to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, 
Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle 
shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be ful- 
filled." Matt. 5:17, 18. Here is some law the 
perpetuity of which is affirmed in the strongest 
terms till the end of time; till all things spoken by 
the prophets are fulfilled. This certainly is not the 
law of ordinances and ceremonies, which he took 
out of the way, nailing it to his cross within less 
than three years and a half of the time when these 
words were spoken. Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:14. The 
law of which Christ speaks and declares that not a 
jot or tittle shall pass from it to the end of all 
things, is that law which determines the degree of 
our righteousness. Matt. 5 : 20. But man was to 
be righteous from the beginning, and all laws reg- 
ulating that were primary laws applicable to him 
before the fall. The Sabbath law, as we have seen, 
was one of this kind. The perpetuity of the Sab- 
bath, therefore, throughout this dispensation is most 
expressly affirmed in this passage. For whatever 
is affirmed of a code of laws as a whole, is equally 
affirmed of every precept composing that code. 
Hence the solemn admonition which Christ utters, 



recorded sermon, how does he speak of the law? Reference. 
29. What does this text affirm ? 30. Why cannot this refer 
to the ceremonial law? 31. What scriptures speak of the 
taking away of the ceremonial law ? 32. How does Matt. 
5 : 20 show what law our Lord refers to? 33. How does this 
show that the Sabbath is of perpetual obligation ? 34. What 
may be said of the whole and its parts ? 35. What adnioni- 



86 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

not to the Jews as such, but to his disciples, that 
whosoever should break one of these least com- 
mandments, and teach men so, he should be called 
least in the kingdom of Heaven, and the blessed 
promise to all who should both do and teach them, 
to be called great in the kingdom of Heaven. 

In his ministry, our Lord seems to take especial 
pains to rescue the Sabbath from the burden of 
Jewish traditions, He declared that it was made 
for man, for his good, for Christians as well as Jews. 
It was not among those laws and requirements 
which were against us, and contrary to us, and 
which therefore were taken out of the way. He 
recognized the Sabbath law by repeatedly declaring 
that what he did, though contrary to the traditions 
of the Jews, was lawful to be done on that day. 
By all his teachings in reference to the law, and in 
all his life here upon the earth, declaring its holiness 
and perpetuity, and rendering perfect obedience to 
it, he magnified it and made it honorable, as the 
prophet declared he would do. By his death upon 
the cross he infinitely magnified and made it honor- 
able. There he demonstrated its immutability and 
perpetuity by showing that nothing less than the 
death of God's divine Son interposed could release 
men from its inexorable claims. 

The apostles took up the subject, and we hear 
Paul declaring that the law, the law of which the 
Sabbath is a part, is not made void by faith in 

tion does Christ give to his disciples 1 36. How did Christ 
treat the Sabbath in his ministry I 37. What did he recog- 
nize by showing what was lawful on the Sabbath? 38. How 
did he magnify and make honorable the law? 39. What was 
shown by his death respecting the law ? 40. After Christ's 
death what did Paul say of the law 1 Reference. 41. What 



BIBLE VIEW OF THE SABBATH. 87 

Christ, but is established, confirmed, by such faith. 
Rom. 3:31. This cannot by any possibility refer 
to the typical law; for the moment we have faith 
in Christ, we set that law aside as an inevitable 
consequence. They frequently bring the Sabbath 
to view, showing that they were accustomed to wor- 
ship on it, Acts 17:2; that they knew of no other 
Sabbath but the seventh day then in existence, Acts 
15:21; and that that was the regular day upon 
which they preached not to the Jews merely but also 
to the Gentiles. Acts 13:42, 44. The Sabbath is 
mentioned in the New Testament fifty-nine times, 
always in a way to show its sflill binding obligation. 
Finally, prophecies were given of a great Sabbath 
reform to take place just before the coming of Christ. 
Isa. 56: 1, 2: " Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judg- 
ment and do justice; for my salvation is near to 
come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed 
is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that 
layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from 
polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any 
evil." The Lord's salvation is near when the com- 
ing of Christ is near; for it is then brought to us. 
Heb. 9:28; 1 Pet. 1:5. And at that time a bless- 
ing is pronounced upon those who lay hold on the 
Sabbath. The third angel's message, Rev. 14, 
brings out a company distinguished as command- 



text shows the custom of the apostles respecting the Sab- 
bath ? 42. What passage shows that they knew no other 
Sabbath but the seventh day ] 43. What reference shows 
that they took that day to preach to the Gentiles as well as 
to the Jews ? 44. How mairy times is the Sabbath men- 
tioned in the New Testament ? 45. What prophet, and 
where, points out a great Sabbath reform before the Lord 
comes 1 46, What is meant by the Lord's salvation being 



88 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

ment-keepers, by their observance of the Sabbath, 
just before the coming of Christ. The remnant, or 
last generation, of the church are distinguished in 
the same way. Rev. 12:17. And when in the 
closing testimony of the book, the Lord declares 
that he is coming quickly, he pauses to pronounce a 
blessing upon those who at that time are found 
keeping the commandments of God, and to promise 
them an abundant entrance into the city and free 
access to the tree of life. And even there the Sab- 
bath attends them as a day of joy and worship; for 
about 800 years before this, the Lord, by the pen of 
Isaiah, had put this promise on record: " For as the 
new heavens and the new earth, which I will make 
shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your 
seed and your name remain. And it shall come to 
pass that from one new moon to another, and from 
one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to wor- 
ship before me saith the Lord." Isa. 66: 22, 23. 

Thus the Sabbath comes to view in Paradise re- 
stored, as it stood at first in Paradise lost ; and in all 
the world's dark history between these two bright 
periods, it has been the golden clasp to bind earth to 
Heaven, and man to his Creator. 

The Sabbath and the first day of the week in the 
New Testament will be the subject of a separate 
chapter. 

near to come ? 47. What passages in the New Testament 
point out the same reform 1 48. What distinguishes the last 
generation of Christians I 49. What promise is given to the 
commandment-keepers who are waiting for the coming of 
Christ 1 50. What is said of the Sabbath in the new earth ? 
51. What is its office between paradise lost and paradise 
restored 1 



CHAPTER X, 



The Sabbath Theory of Akers, Jennings, 
Mede, and Fuller. 

A theory of the Sabbath, not newly invented, 
but an old theory newly modified, and now gen- 
erally known as Akers' Theory, has come to be re- 
ceived quite largely with a certain denomination, 
and is therefore here presented in a separate lesson. 
This theory, briefly stated, is, that the day now 
known as the first day of the week, and kept as the 
Sabbath, is the day which God originally blessed 
and gave to Adam as the Sabbath ; so that in keep- 
ing the first day of the week, we are keeping the 
original seventh day according to the commandment. 
This would be a splendid way out of the Sabbath 
difficulty if it could be sustained; and multitudes 
have been made to hope that Mr. A. would confirm 
them in their practice of Sunday sabbatizing, which 
they are so unwilling to abandon. 

We find objections to this position in two direc- 
tions: first, in the fact that in many particulars it 
contradicts the positive testimony of the Scriptures, 
and secondly, in the self-contradictions and absurd- 
ities involved in the theory itself. 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER TEN. 

1. What is the theory generally known as Akers' Theory ? 
2. In what respect are there objections to this theory] 3. 

[891 



90 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

It is certain that if we are now keeping the orig- 
inal seventh day by keeping Sunday, the Jews did 
not keep that original seventh day; for they did 
not keep the Sunday, but the day before. It follows, 
therefore, from this position, that there have been, 
to the present time, two changes of the Sabbath ; 
first, from the Adamic to the Mosaic or Jewish Sab- 
bath; secondly, from the Jewish to the present, or 
Christian Sabbath. We have supposed that the 
necessity of proving one change was a sufficient bur- 
den for the first-day Sabbath. That is a bold, and 
we shall find it a reckless and presumptuous one, 
which advocates two. To see how they do this, we 
will look at the position which each one of these 
men has taken. 

First in point of time comes Mr. Joseph Mede, who 
early in the seventeenth century announced to the 
world a wonderful discovery, namely, that the He- 
brew people did not have the original Sabbath which 
had been binding from creation to Moses, but that 
Saturday was given them in place of the original 
Sabbath, because on this day God overthrew Pharaoh 
in the Red Sea. Mr. M. was very sure the Sabbath 
was thus changed at this time, but what day it was 
changed from he could not tell. See Jennings' Jew- 
ish Antiquities, pp. 329, 330. 

This theory is too indefinite to be more than 
simply stated. But the seed had been dropped 
which was after two hundred years to spring up 
and bear baleful fruit. If it could only be shown 
that the Jews had a changed Sabbath and we have 
the original, that would suit much better than the 

According to this theory, how many changes of the Sabbath 
have there been '? 4. Who first in point of time suggested 
this theory ? 5. What was Mede's theory 1 6. How long 



AKERS' SABBATH THEORY. 91 

idea that they had the original Sabbath, and we 
have the one that is changed. So a hundred years 
from the days of Mr. Mede, Dr. Jennings arises and 
responds, virtually, " That is a splendid idea of yours, 
Bro. Mede, that the Sabbath was changed for the 
Jews at the commencement of their dispensation, 
but you are altogether wrong in the time when it 
occurred, and you are#vrong in reference to the place 
where it occurred, and you are wrong in the argu- 
ments you adduce to sustain it; but your idea is 
nevertheless all right and true ! However, the over- 
throw of Pharaoh had nothing to do with this 
change; it did not take place at the crossing of the 
Red Sea, but at a later point, when the manna was 
given." 

Dr. Jennings' theory recognizes the institution of 
the Sabbath at the close of the Avork of creation, 
and binding from that time to Moses. But there he 
contends for a change; and to be a little more defi- 
nite than Mr. Mede, he proposes to tell what day the 
Sabbath was changed from when a new one was 
given to the Hebrews. So he undertakes to ''make 
it appear to be probable " that " the Jewish Sabbath 
was appointed to be kept the day before the patri- 
archal Sabbath." Antiquities, p. 320. That is to 
say, the Sabbath was set back one day for the Jews 
to Saturday, and the Sabbath in regular succession 
of seventh days from the creation would come the 
day following, on Sunday. His principal argument 
for this position is the following : The manna fell for 
six days, and was withheld on the seventh, this sev- 
enth day was Saturday, and was ever after to be 



after Mede did Jennings appear 1 7. According to Jennings, 
how far was Mede wrong ? 8. Where does Dr. J. 's theory- 
place the institution of the Sabbath I 9. What change was 



92 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

observed as the Sabbath by the Hebrews. As the 
manna had fallen six days before this Saturday on 
which it was withheld, it began to fall on Sunday ; 
and the day before it began to fall, or Saturday, 
was spent by the Israelites journeying from Elim to 
bin. 

This argument stands on three legs, every one of 
which breaks down when w# bring the pressure of 
examination upon it. For, first, it cannot be proved 
that the journey from Elim to Sin was on Saturday; 
and even Dr. Akers. who labors strenuously to reach 
the same point Dr. Jennings is trying to prove, 
denies that this journey was on Saturday, declaring 
that it took place on Monday. Secondly, it cannot 
be proved that one or more days did not elapse after 
Israel arrived at Sin, before the manna began to fall. 
Thirdly, it cannot be proved that the manna fell six 
days before the Sabbath spoken of in connection 
therewith in Ex. 16; as the sixth day there men- 
tioned is the sixth day of the week, and has no ref- 
erence to the number of days upon which th^ manna 
had fallen. These assumptions constituting the 
warp and woof of his position, when they are taken 
away nothing is left. 

With a glance at the monstrous absurdities, into 
which this theory explodes like a rocket, and disap- 
pears, we leave it: 1. We have the original Sabbath 
abolished for them five days before the new Sabbath 
was instituted ; 2. We have a period of twelve days 
without any Sabbath at all; and 3. We have the 
providence of God in the giving of the manna requir- 

made at the exodus ? 10. What is his argument from the 
manna ? 11. In what respects does this argument fail 1 12. 
In what absurdities does this theory end 1 13. How long a 



A£E&S' SABBATfi THEORY. §3 

ing them to violate the Sabbath, when it was to 
prove their willingness to keep the Sabbath, that the 
manna was given. Thus, according to Dr. J., the 
loth of Abib, on which they journeyed from Elim 
to Sin, was Saturday. The next day, Sunday, the 
16th, which had been the Sabbath from Eden down 
to that point, the manna began to fall, and they 
had to go out and gather it, which showed they 
were no longer to regard that dav as the Sabbath. 

© © */ 

The manna fell six days to the 22d of Abib, when 
the people rested. And this was the first rest they 
had had since Sunday, the 9th of Abib, thirteen days 
before. For the Saturday before, the loth, had not 
then been instituted as the Sabbath ; if it had been, 
says Dr. J., they would not have journeyed from 
Elim to Sin; and the Sunday before, the 16th, had 
ceased to be the Sabbath for that people, if it had 
not, the manna would not have begun to fall then, 
causing the people to go out and engage in their 
secular labor by gathering it. We have, conse- 
quently, a period of twelve full days from the 9th to 
the 22d of Abib without any Sabbath; we have 
the original Sabbath abolished on the 16th of Abib, 
five days before the new was instituted on the 2 2d; 
we have God saying, I will rain bread from heaven 
to prove you whether you will walk in my law or 
no ; and lo ! the very day that bread begins to fall, 
it happens to be the original Sabbath, and they are 

obliged to violate it by going out to gather their food. 
© j © © © 

Thus in following the providence of God in the giv- 
ing of the manna, they are obliged to break the law 
of God in disregarding his Sabbath. And what is 
remarkable, the people express no surprise that they 

period does he give us without a Sabbath ? 14. Who came 



94 SYNOPSIS OF THE PEESENT TEUTH. , 

are obliged, without any previous instruction, to 
violate the original Sabbath, and r^ady as they were 
to complain and rebel at the slightest grievances, 
they close up one week's labor with the march from 
Elim to Sin, and immediately enter upon a second 
week of labor in gathering the manna, without a 
murmur. 

Something more than another hundred years 
elapse, and there appears that prodigy among chro- 
nologists, Dr. Akers. In 1855 he gave to the world 
the result of his lucubrations. He seizes upon the 
idea that the Sabbath was changed for the Hebrews 
in the days of Moses as one too good to be lost, but 
one which unfortunately had not down to his day 
been sustained by any adequate proof. But he will 
remedy this matter, and will retain the kernel of 
this nut for Sabbatarians, though he does not con- 
sider that the efforts of Mede or Jennings, in their at- 
tend pts to sustain this idea, amount to respectable 
shucks.' He therefore places the change at a differ- 
ent point of time from either of the others, namely, 
not at the fall of manna, nor at the passage of the 
Red Sea, but on the 15th of Abib, when the children 
of Israel started on their exodus from Egypt. And 
how does he attempt to show that this was Saturday 
the sixth day of the original week, and should be 
kept by that people as the Sabbath instead of the 
day following, which was the Edenic Sabbath, and 
which had been kept down to that time ? He takes 
his stand at the crucifixion of Christ, which he 



to the rescue of this theory next after Jennings ? 15. How 
long 1 16. In what year was Akers' work published 1 17. 
In what respect according to Akers, is Jennings' theory 
wrong I 18. What is Akers' method of argument ? 19. 
What change does Akers' make at the exode ? 20. What 
change does this make necessary at the cross ? 21. Will his 



AKEKS* SABBATH THEOBY. §5 

places on the 28th of March, A. D. 28, in the year of 
the world 5573. From this he reckons back to the 
rest-day of the Lord at the close of creation week, 
and finds just 298,767 weeks, from which he claims 
that the seventh day of Gen. 2, is the first day of 
Matt. 28:1; and that the creation was begun on 
Monday, Sept. 15. From this point he then reckons 
down to the day Israel left Egypt, and finds the 
15th of Abib to be the sixth day of the week. 
Here he has to rearrange matters generally; and 
under cover of the institution of the sacred year at 
this point, slips in a new week, jogging the reckon- 
ing back one day, making the last day of the pre- 
vious week the first day of the new, and the sixth 
day of the old week the seventh day of the new. 
And this day that people were to regard as the Sab- 
balh Having thus readjusted bis machine, it runs 
first-rate down to the resurrection of Christ, but 
there it comes to a dead stop, being entirely out of 
joint with the arrangement that follows. Here that 
peculiarly Jewish arrangement of Sabbath and 
weeks should disappear, and the patriarchal arrange- 
ment revive. The Sabbath should go back to its 
original day, Sunday, and the week should resume 
its old order, which would make Sunday its seventh 
day. He has no hesitancy in claiming that the 
Sabbath went back to Sunday; but lo, the week 
refuses to change; for the Sunday following the 
Jewish seventh day, four of the inspired writers call 
plainly the first day of the week. But what does it 
matter if the inspired writers have inadvertently 
called this the first day, has not Dr. A. proved by 
actual count from creation that it is the true 

week change back there 1 22. What shows this ? 23. With 
what is Dr. A. 's count thus brought into direct conflict ] 



96 SYNOPSIS OF THE PEESENT TRUTH. 

seventh day, and is that count to be set aside by the 
simple fact that the evangelists happen to use the 
word in this manner ! ! 

On what authority then does Dr. A.'s count rest? 
He adopts the chronology of the Septuagint, a 
Greek translation of the Old Testament reputed to 
have been made at Alexandria in Egypt, about 280 
years before Christ, though this is disputed by some. 
This chronology gives us, between the creation and 
the exodus, 1386 years more than the Hebrew 
Scriptures, and down to the Christian era, 1426 
years more. Dr. A. therefore by adopting the Sep- 
tuagint, sets aside the Hebrew as entirely unreliable. 
But is the Septuagint of such undoubted authority 
in this particular? Dr. A. himself confesses that it 
sometimes needs correcting. For instance it makes 
Methuselah survive the flood some fourteen years; 
and he corrects this strange error only by following 
those copies of the Septuagint which in this partic- 
ular case conform to the numbers given in the 
Hebrew. Thus the doctor shows himself adequate 
to the task of meeting every difficulty, first by 
adopting the Septuagint, and rejecting the Hebrew 
as wholly unreliable, then falling back upon the He- 
brew to correct some of the glaring and notorious 
errors of the Septuagint, and lastly by correcting 
the Septuagint in other particulars by such author- 
ities as he may judge to be reliable. But what is a 

24. Upon what authority does his computation rest? 25. 
What is the Septuagint translation and when was it made ? 

26. How does this differ in chronology from the Hebrew ? 

27. What does Dr. A. himself confess in regard to the Septu- 
agint ? 28. Where does this chronology place the death of 
Methuselah ? 29. How does Dr. A. get over this difficulty ? 
30. What does he have to do further to make his theory 



AKERS* SABBATH THEORY. 97 

chronology good for, the value of which depends 
upon its accuracy even to a day, that rests upon 
such palpable uncertainties? A more unreasonable 
claim could scarcely be put forth than this which 
pretends to give the exact number of days from 
creation to the present time. Dr. E. O. Haven, 
formerly president of the University of Michigan, 
and likewise a Methodist clergyman, whose name 
overtops that of Dr. A as the cedar of Lebanon 
towers above the bramble, pronounces such an effort 
at chronology a complete failure. 

Again, Dr. A. places the creation on Sept. 15, but 
the Rabbins on Oct. 7, yet he takes up their reck- 
oning to show that Sunday was the original seventh 
day. But if this date is right, theirs is wrong, and 
vice versa. But besides this difference of 22 days, 
the two systems of chronology differ 1785 years to 
the exodus, yet the doctor has so wonderful a system 
of chronology that he can prove himself right by 
either. Whether the world was created Sept. 15 or 
Oct. 7, some 1785 years later, it is all the same to 
him. He can show in either case that Sunday is 
the true seventh day anyway. What further proof 
is needed that this method of reasoning is altogether 
sophistical and deceptive? 

But how does Dr. A. help the matter? Let us see 
what he asks us to believe: 1. That the first day of 
time was Monday. 2. That God gave up his own 
rest-day to be desecrated by his chosen people dur- 

stand ? 31. What may and must be said of that claim which 
professes to give the exact number of days in the age of the 
world ? 32. What is Dr. Haven's testimony 1 33. Where 
does Dr. A. place the creation 1 34. Where do the Rab- 
bins place it 1 35. How does their chronology differ from Dr. 
A. 's 1 36. Yet what does Dr. A. prove by their chronology 1 
37. What is the first point we must believe according to 

7 



98 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTHS 

ing the whole period of their separate existence, 
giving them in its stead only a ceremonial Sabbath 
which they were to sacredly observe. 3. That God 
gave them a new week made up of the seventh day 
of one of his weeks, and the first six days of the fol- 
lowing. 4. That here was a genuine week, with 
only six days in it. 5. That when that arrange- 
ment ceased, the week refused to go back, and God's 
seventh day is now our first day. 6. That the 
sixth day, with which the new week given to Israel 
closed, was made into a new Sabbath. 7. That this 
sixth day was then made into the seventh. And 8. 
That at Christ's resurrection two Sabbaths came 
together. 

It is not to be greatly wondered at that such a 
tissue of confusion should not be suffered long to 
remain without some one making an effort to tinker 
it into greater consistency. So some ten years after 
the publication of Dr. Akers' book, the Rev. E. Q. 
Fuller tried his hand at this very desirable, but yet 
unaccomplished job. He likes the main idea which 
they are trying to establish. He likes Akers' reck- 
oning of time even to days, and he thinks Akers has 
fixed the time and place all right, but does not 
rightly state the change. He will have it that the 
Sabbath was changed at the exode, not from the 
seventh day to the sixth, as Dr. A. asserts, but from 
the first day to the seventh. And this he brings 
about in this way. The first six days of creation 
belong to eternity, not time. The seventh day was 

Dr. A.'s theory? 38. What the second? 39. What the 
third? 40. The fourth? 41. The fifth? 42. The sixth? 
43. The seventh? 44. The eighth? 45. Who Las since 
tried to patch up this theory ? 46. Where is Akers' failure 
according to Fuller 1 47. What is Fuller's theory 1 48. 



AKEKS* SABBATH THEORY. 99 

Adam's first day, and there time began, and the 
week began with its first day as a Sabbath. At 
the exode the Sabbath was set back from this first 
day of the week to the seventh; but the week was 
not changed as Dr. A. asserts. This went on to the 
resurrection of Christ when this seventh day Sab- 
bath was abolished, leaving the first day Sabbath 
in all its glory. Thus Fuller gives us a week at 
the exode with two Sabbaths in it, and one at the 
resurrection of Christ with no Sabbath in it. It 
will be seen at once how he contradicts Akers in 
some of his most essential particulars. But what is 
most remarkable, he depends on Akers' count of the 
days; yet he begins with the seventh day, six days 
later than Dr. A. and proceeding on the same count, 
comes out exactly the same! Where is all this 
putty and India-rubber? In these men's hearts, or 
in their heads? 

We have said but little by way of com paring the 
theories of these men with the Bible; nor is it neces- 
sary to speak particularly on that point. Read the 
record of Gen. 2, and the fourth commandment. If 
the Sabbath given in that commandment is not the 
very day upon which God rested and which he 
blessed in the beginning, it is a deception. For an 
exhaustive examination of the theories of these men 
and an exposure of the wicked course of the later 
writers on this subject, the reader is referred to the 
pamphlet entitled, "Sunday Seventh-day Examined. 
A Refutation of the teachings of Mede, Jennings, 
Akers, and Fuller, by Eld. J. N. Andrews." 



What kind of a week does Fuller give us at the exode ? 49 
What kind afc the crucifixion ] 50. What is remarkable 
about his use of Dr. A. 's count of the days ? 51. What day 
is enjoined as the Sabbath in the commandment 1 52. 
Where and by whom are these theories fully exposed 1 



CHAPTER XI. 



Sabbath and Sunday — Secular History. 

Thousands upon thousands suppose that history 
shows a unanimous and uninterrupted observance of 
Sunday. on the part of Christians from the days of 
Christ, and that just as unanimously and contin- 
ually, the seventh day which had been the Sabbath 
to that time, was disregarded by them. Many in- 
nocently hold this view in ignorance; others assert 
it who know better than to believe it. 

The popular Sunday view is well expressed in 
these words of Mosheim : " All Christians were unan- 
imous in setting apart the first day of the week, 
on which the triumphant Saviour arose from the 
dead, for the solemn celebration of public worship. 
This pious custom which was derived from the 
church of Jerusalem, was founded upon the express 
appointment of the apostles, who consecrated that 
day to the same sacred purposes, and was observed 
universally throughout the Christian churches, as 
appears from the united testimonies of the most 
credible writers." 

This reads very much to the mind of the Sunday- 
keeper; but lo! in the following century another 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER ELEVEN. 

1. What historian states the Sunday view 1 2. What is 
his language ? 3. What historian makes a counter state- 
[100] 



SABBATH AND SUNDAY. lOl 

historian, equally worthy of credit, arises and says: 
" The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was 
always only a human ordinance, and it was far from 
the intentions of the apostles to establish a divine 
command in this respect; far from them, and from 
the early apostolic church, to transfer the laws of 
the Sabbath to Sunday. Perhaps at the end of the 
second century a false application of this kind had 
begun to take place; for men appear by that time 
to have considered laboring on Sunday as a sin." 
Neanders Church History, as translated by H. J. 
Rose, j). 186. 

Mosheim was a writer of the 18th, Neancler of the 
19th, century. From what source did they obtain 
the information they give us respecting Sunday ? 
No one lived from apostolic times to their day to tell 
them how it was and had been. They were depend- 
ent on the records which have come down from that 
time. We have the same, and can thus test the 
truthfulness of their assertions. Mosheim, indeed, 
declares that it was founded upon the express ap- 
pointment of the apostles. Where is that appoint- 
ment ? It is not in the New Testament. Mosheim 's 
assertion avails nothing, therefore, for Protestants; 
for it can be used only by departing from the Prot- 
estant ground of "the Bible and the Bible alone," 
and adopting the Romanist position, " the Bible and 
tradition." 

The whole question sums itself up in this one 
proposition: that Sunday was called the Lord's day 
in the days of John, and from that time onward; 

ment ? 4. What is his language 1 5. When did these his- 
torians respectively flourish ? 6. Where are they therefore 
obliged to go for their authority ? 7. What rule would 
Mosheim's statement compel us to adopt ? 8. What prop- 
osition is the sum of the whole Sunday question ? 9. What 



102 SYNOPSIS OF THE PEESENT TRUTH. 

and that such a title showed that it was the Sab- 
bath of this dispensation. This proposition we 
deny, and shall now examine. 

John in Rev. 1: 10 does not mean the first day of 
the week by the term Lord's day ; for he twice af- 
terward speaks of that day, but calls it simply first 
day of the week. John 20:1, 19. John's gospel 
was written in A. D. 98, two years after the book of 
Revelation. He must mean by that term that day 
which the Lord has claimed as his, which is the sev- 
enth day of the week. Ex. 20: 10, Isa. 58: 13, and 
in the New Testament, we have testimony to show 
that the day which Christ is Lord of is the Sabbath, 
the seventh day. " The Son of man is Lord even of 
the Sabbath day," the seventh day. Matt. 12:8; 
Mark. 2:27. 

We now notice all the writers who are claimed to 
have applied the title of Lord's day to Sunday, down 
to the close of the second century. 

First. Ignatius is quoted, in his epistle to the 
Magnesians. But the reader will find history sus- 
taining the following facts in regard to this matter: 

1. No epistle was written by Ignatius, the disciple of 
John, to the Magnesians. That epistle is a forgery. 

2. Even that forgery does not say anything about 
the Lord's day. That has been added by the addi- 
tional fraud of some subsequent writer. 3. The 
term, Lord's day, does not occur in the entire writ- 
ings of this Father, either in the spurious, or those 
which are supposed to be genuine. 

does John mean by the term " Lord's day " in Rev. 1 : 10 ? 

References. 10. What Father is first quoted as calling Sim- 
day the Lord's day ? 11. In what epistle 1 12. What is the 
nature of that epistle 1 13. Does that forged epistle say any- 
thing about the Lord's day l 14. Does the term, Lord's day, 
occur in the entire writings of Ignatius I 15. What writer 



SABBATH AND SUNDAY 103 

Secondly. Pliny, A. D. 104, is quoted as saying 
that this question was put to the martyrs: "Have 
you kept the Lord's day ? " and the answer was, "I 
am a Christian, I cannot omit it." What splendid 
testimony this would be, if it were only true. And 
how many have been confirmed in their false practice 
by this quotation. The testimony professes to come 
from a work entitled Acta Marty rum, or The Acts 
of the Martyrs. But the testimony of Mosheim on 
this work, is that it is of no authority whatever; 
and ^ven if it was, it contains no such expression as 
is here ascribed to it. Gilfillan, unwilling to lose 
the testimony, refers for authority to Baronius. 
But what Baronius speaks of, is the martyrdom of 
Saturninus and his four sons, in Northern Africa; 
but this was in A. D. 303, not in the time of Pliny, 
two hundred years before ; and the question put was 
not " Have you kept the Lord's day ? " but " Have 
you celebrated the Lord's supper ? " Thus vanishes 
another famous falsehood put forth in behalf of 
Sunday. 

Thirdly. Justin Martyr, A. D. 140, is quoted as 
calling Sunday the Lord's day. But Justin gives 
no such title to Sunday, nor any other title what- 
ever. He simply says, " On the day called Sunday, 
all who live in cities or in the country, gather to- 
gether to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles, 
or the writings ©f the prophets are read as long as 

is referred to as the second authority? 16. What is the 
claim urged from Pliny's writing? 17. From what work 
does this claim to be taken? 18. What is the nature of 
the Acta Martyrum ? 19. Does any such expression occur 
in that work ? 20. What authority does Gilfillan refer to ? 

21. When did the event referred to by Baronius take place ? 

22. What was the question then put to the martyrs ? 23. 
Who next is quoted ? 24 Does Justin Martyr ever give the 
title of Lord's day, or any other title, to Sunday ? 25. Who 



104 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

time permits," etc. Justin Martyr's First Apology, 
chap, lxvii. But some one, wishing his testimony, 
has deliberately put in " the Lord's day," instead of 
Sunday, and added, "because that is the day of our 
Lord's resurrection." Thus Justin is made to testify 
in behalf of Sunday as the Lord's day only by 
fraud. (See Complete Testimony of Fathers.) 

Fourthly. Theophilus, A. D. 162, is introduced as 
a witness in behalf of Sunday. Justin Edwards' 
Sabbath Manual, p. 114, presents this case as fol- 
lows : — 

"Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, about A. D. 162, 
says: 'Both custom and reason challenge from us 
that we should honor the Lord's day, seeing on that 
day it was that our Lord Jesus completed his resur- 
rection from the dead.' " 

We have presented the quotation in full because 
we have the curious fact that nothing of the kind 
whatever can be found in the writings of Theoph"- 
lus. He does not once use the term, Lord's day ; he 
does not even speak of the first day of the week. It 
is astonishing beyond expression that testimony can 
be thus manufactured from nothing and be delib- 
erately ascribed to these early Fathers. 

Fifthly. Dionysius of Corinth, A. D. 170, is 
quoted. Dionysius does use the term, Lord's day, or 
rather, "the Lord's holy day," but he makes no ap- 
plication of it to any day of the week. He says 
nothing to show what day of the week he means. 
Having found the first four witnesses for Sunday 
inexcusable frauds, it cannot be claimed that this 



is the fourth writer quoted? 26. What is the quotation 
given from him ? 27. Is anything of this kind to be found 
in the writings of Theophilus I 28. Who is the fifth Father 
quoted ? 29. What term does Dionysius use ? 30. Does he 



SABBATH AND SUNDAY. 105 

was the familiar name for Sunday and did not need 
to be defined. And no writer, for a long time af- 
ter Dionysius, applies such a title as "Lord's holy 
day" to Sunday. But this was the title of the Sab- 
bath of the Lord ; and at this very time, in Greece, 
the country of Dionysius, the Sabbath was exten- 
sively observed as an act of obedience to the fourth 
commandment. All the probabilities in his testi- 
mony, therefore, point to the Sabbath instead of 
Sunday. 

Sixthly. Melito of Sardis, A. D. 177, is brought 
forward as the sixth witness. His testimony is 
made to do service on this wise: He wrote several 
books of which only the titles have been preserved 
to us. One of these, as given in the English version 
of Eusebius, is "On the Lord's Day." This of course 
is claimed to be a treatise on Sunday, though it can- 
not be shown that any writer down to this point 
calls Sunday by that name. But the most remark- 
able thing about it is that the essential word " day" 
is not found in the original. So it was simply a 
discourse about something pertaining to the Lord; 
and it may have been, and doubtless was, a treatise 
on the life of Christ, as Eusebius uses the expression 
" Lord's life," kuriakeen zoeen, in connection. 

Seventhly. Irenseus is quoted by Justin Edwards 
as follows: "On the Lord's day every one of us 
Christians keeps the Sabbath, meditating on the 

tell what day of the week he means ? 31. From what coun- 
try was Dionysius ? 32. How was the Sabbath regarded in 
that country at that time ? 33. Who is the sixth writer 
quoted? 34. What is + 1 e test' nony drawn from him ? 35. 
Does the word day < ccur in the bitle of his last book ? 36. 
What was his treati; e then prob bly concerning 1 37. Who 
is the seventh witness ? 38. W lat is the objection to this 
testimony from Irengeus % 39. How and when does Clement 



106 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

law, and rejoicing in the works of God." The great 
reason why this is not good testimony for Sunday 
is that not a word of the kind can be found in 
Irenseus. The term " Lord's day " is not to be found 
in any of his writings, nor in any fragments of his 
writings preserved in other authors. 

These are the seven witnesses through whom the 
Romish church, copied by Protestants, trace their 
Lord's day back to, and identify it with, the Lord's 
day of the Bible. But the first, second, third, fourth, 
and seventh of these, are inexcusable frauds; the 
fifth speaks of the Lord's day, but does not tell us 
what day it is, and the sixth writes something about 
the Lord, but tells us nothing about a day. 

A little later, Clement of Alexandria, A. D. 194, 
uses the title with reference to the eighth day; but 
in his explanation he makes this to signify, not the 
first day of the week, but Heaven itself. 

The next writer who uses the term is Tertullian, 
A. D. 200; and he applies it definitely to the day of 
Christ's resurrection. This, says Kitto, is the first 
authentic application of this kind; and this was 104 
years after John wTote the book of Revelation, and 
169 years after the resurrection of Christ. This 
sustains the statement of Neander, that perhaps at 
the end of the second century men had begun to 
make a false application of the laws of the Sabbath 
to Sunday; "for men appear," he says, "by that 
time to have considered laboring on Sunday a sin." 

Origen, A. D. 231, is the third writer who calls the 
" eighth day " the Lord's day. But he uses it in two 

of Alexandria use the term ? 40. Where and when do we 
find the first authentic application of Lord's day to the first 
day of the week ? 41. How long was this after the resurrec- 
tion of Christ 1 and how long after John wrote the Revela- 
tion ? 42. How and when does Origen use the term ] 43. 



SABBATH AND SUNDAY. 107 

senses: 1. For a natural day, in which sense it ranks 
with the Preparation day, the Passover, and the 
Pentecost; and 2. For a mystical day, as did Clem- 
ent, in which sense it stands for the whole Christian 
life. 

We have thus traced the Lord's day as far as it is 
needful. This Lord's day as it now exists, first 
appears in the early apostasy of the church; but 
between that and the days of the apostles there is a 
fatal break, which men have endeavored to bridge 
over by a series of fearful frauds. An honest mind 
will desert any institution which is obliged to de- 
pend on such support. 

Two more quotations only remain to be noticed 
before we come to the time of Constantine, A. D. 321. 
The first is the so-called epistle of Barnabas, which 
says, " We observe the eighth day with gladness, in 
which Jesus arose from the dead." This was not 
an epistle from Barnabas, the companion of Paul. 
Mosheim, Neander, Stuart, Dr. Kill en, Prof. Hackett, 
Milner, Kitto, Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 
Eusebius, Domville, and Coleman, all unite in de- 
claring it a forgery, the production of a Jew of 
mean abilities, who lived at a much later period than 
that of the true Barnabas. The second is a quota- 
tion from Pliny, stating that the Christians were 
wont to meet together on a "stated day." It is 
claimed that this stated day was Sunday. But how 
do they know ? The essential link in the evidence 
is wanting; for he does not say what day of the 
week it was. 

In A. D. 321 a new era dawned upon the Sunday 

What is to be said of the Epistle of Barnabas 1 44. Name 
the authors who condemn it. 45. What can be said of 
Pliny's " stated day " ? 46. What took place in a. d. 321 1 



108 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

institution. In that year Constantine, on the throne 
of the Roman empire, enacted a law in behalf of the 
"venerable day of the sun," from which it soon 
came to be the venerable day in the church. Of the 
effect of this law Mosheim thus speaks : — 

" The first day of the week, which was the ordi- 
nary and stated time for the public assemblies of 
the Christians, was in consequence of a peculiar law 
enacted by Constantine, observed with greater 
solemnity than it had formerly been." 

What, then, did Constantine's law require ? It 
read as follows: — 

" Let all the judges and town people, and the oc- 
cupation of all trades rest on the venerable day of 
the sun ; but let those who are situated in the coun- 
try, freely and at full liberty attend to the business 
of agriculture; because it often happens that no 
other day is so fit for sowing corn and planting 
Vines; lest the critical moment being let slip, men 
should lose the commodities granted by Heaven." 

It follows, therefore, according to the testimony 
of Mosheim, that if this law, restraining only town 
people and trades, caused Sunday to be observed 
more strictly than formerly, no restraint had previ- 
ously been laid upon any class from working on that 
day. 

Constantine's law, it will be noticed, speaks not 
of the Lord's day, or the Christian Sabbath, but of 
"the venerable day of the sun." This was the 
heathen, not the Christian, name of the day. And 
this law was in behalf of Sunday as a heathen, not 
a Christian, institution. This will appear by com- 



47. What did this law of Constantine's provide ? 48. What 
does Mosheim say of the effect of this law ? 49. What fol- 
lows from this statement? 50. What was the nature of 



SABBATH AND SUNDAY. 1.09 

paring dates. The law was dated A. D. 321. Con- 
stantine did not experience his so-called conversion 
to Christianity till A. D. 323, two years afterward. 
The day following his Sunday law, he enacted an- 
other, regulating the work of the soothsayers who 
foretold future events by examining the entrails of 
beasts ottered in sacrifice to the gods; fitting com- 
panion to the preceding. 

But how did this heathen law come to have a 
bearing upon Sunday as a Christian observance ? 
The pope of Rome cheerfully looked after that mat- 
ter. When Constantine professed Christianity, his 
Sunday law was left on the statute book unrepealed ; 
and Sylvester, bishop of Rome, since called pope, 
took advantage of this fact; and giving the day the 
imposing title of Lord's day, by his apostolic author- 
ity, enforced it upon the church as a Christian in- 
stitution. Constantine also, then deeming himself 
as much the head of the church as the pope, took 
upon himself to elevate it still further, by church 
authority, as a Christian observance, taking " upon 
him," says Heylyn, not only " to command the day, 
but also to prescribe the service." 

The parts which paganism and the papacy have 
acted in the elevation of Sunday are now plain to 
be seen. From the earliest times, the first day of 
the week, in the religion of idolatry, was dedicated 
to the worship of the sun ; so that when Christian- 
ity came into ' contact with that false system, Sun- 
day was a venerable day throughout all the heathen 
world. 



Constantine 's law 1 51. When was it enacted ? 52. When 
was Constantine nominally converted to Christianity ? 53. 
What law did he enact the day following his Sunday law? 
54. How did this come to be a Christian law ? 55. What 
are the parts paganism and the papacy have played in this 



110 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

In the Christian church, being the day of Christ's 
resurrection, it appeared as a festival, observed in 
the same manner and for the same reason that they 
observed the day of the crucifixion, the day of the 
ascension, etc. But as heathenism and Christianity 
approached each other, and illustrious pagans be- 
came half converts to the gospel, seeking to engraft 
their Gnostic notions upon the Christian scheme, the 
question of expediency suggested that it would tend 
to conciliate their heathen neighbors, and also to 
promote the spread of Christianity among them, for 
Christians to pay more especial honors to their great 
festival day. They could do it as Christians, and 
please them as pagans. 

In the days of Constantine so near had the two 
systems come together that it was not difficult to 
transfer institutions from one to the other. Sunday 
had heretofore run on the pagan track ; now it could 
be switched off upon the Christian. Pope Sylvester 
turned the sivitch; and henceforth Sunday is a 
palace sleeping car upon the Christian track, and 
not upon the heathen. 

We need not trace it any further. Roman Cath- 
olic catechisms tell us the place it occupies in that 
church, and the claims they base upon it. They 
hesitate not to acknowledge that the church has 
changed the Sabbath from the seventh day to the 
first day of the week, without any sanction from 
the Scriptures, or any outward command from God. 
And they boast of this as an evidence of their power 
to legislate in sacred things. Says the "Abridg- 
ment of Christian Doctrine " (Catholic catechism) : — 

" Ques. How prove you that the church hath 
power to command feasts and holy days ? 

matter] 56. What is the testimony of Roman Catholic cate- 



SABBATH AND SUNDAY. Ill 

* Ans. By the very act of changing the Sabbath 
into Sunday, which Protestants allow of ; and there- 
fore they fondly contradict themselves by keeping 
Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts 
commanded by the same church." 

In the latter part of the 16th century a contro- 
versy broke out between the Presbyterians and the 
Episcopalians, which brought the Sunday question 
on Protestant grounds to an issue. The Episcopa- 
lians were for retaining all the feasts commanded 
by the church. The Presbyterians were for reject- 
ing them, as being but popish leaven and supersti- 
tion ; yet they retained Sunday. The Episcopalians 
retorted that if they gave up the others they must 
give up the Sunday, or if they kept that they must 
keep all the others, to be consistent; for they all 
rested on the same foundation, namely, the author- 
ity of the church. Then it was that, driven to find 
some support from the Scriptures, the " Rev. Nich- 
olas Bound, D. D.," A. D. 1595, invented the seventh 
part of time fallacy, which is even to this day, with 
many theologians, their stock in trade on the Sun- 
day question. 

The limits of this lesson will not permit a further 
notice of the Sabbath, historically, than merely to 
say that Sabbath-keepers can be traced in an un- 
broken succession all through the gospel dispensa- 
tion, from the church of Jerusalem to the present 
time. 



chisms ? 57. What controversy arose in the latter part of the 
16th century? 58. What doctrine was then brought out, 
and by whom % 59. Where are the historical facts in regard 
to the Sabbath and Sunday to be found 1 60. What can be 
said of the Sabbath during the gospel dispensation] 6L 
Whose statement, then, is correct, Mosheim's or Neander's? 



112 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 



For the historical facts above stated, we are in- 
debted to "The History of the Sabbath," by Eld. 
J. N. Andrews, a work of extensive and exhaustive 
research on this question, unanswered and unan- 
swerable. To this we refer the reader and all others 
who desire reliable information on this subject. 




CHAPTER XII. 



* 



Nature and Destiny of Man. 

The Ion or digression throup-h which we have 
passed on the Sabbath question, should not cause us 
to forget that the subject still under consideration is 
the third angel's message of Rev. 14. We ha^ T e 
been led to an examination of the Sabbath question 
from the fact that that message brings out a class 
distinguished as commandment-keepers; and we 
have found that to be thus distinguished we must 
keep all the commandments of God, besides the faith 
of Jesus; for while we can be commandment-break- 
ers if we break only one of them, to be command- 
ment-keepers we must keep them all. There being 
no controversy on any point but the Sabbath, that 
must be the distinguishing commandment. And 
such in our investigation we have found it to be; 
for it is an institution which had its origin in the 
beginning, and from its very nature must exist 
without change to the end; and the fourth com- 
mandment of the decalogue confines us to the 
seventh day of the week as the Sabbath. The 
great Sabbath reform is borne upon the front of the 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER TWELVE. 

1. What is the subject still under investigation? 2. In 
what way is the Sabbath connected with this message ? 3. 
What have we found in our investigation of the Sabbath 

8 [113] 



114 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

message ; and it is bringing out a people of whom it 
can be said, "Here are they that keep the command- 
ments of God and the faith of Jesus." 

The message also brings to view the punishment 
of those who reject the message, and practice the 
sins against which it warns us ; and this will, there- 
fore, next engage our attention. It says of those 
who worship the beast and receive his mark, that 
they "shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, 
which is poured out without mixture into the cup 
of his indignation;" and they "shall be tormented 
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy 
angels and in the presence of the lamb; and the 
smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and 
ever; and they have no rest day nor night who 
worship the beast and his image, and whosoever 
receiveth the mark of his name." 

This is considered one of the strong texts to prove 
the eternal misery of the lost, and consequently the 
immortality of the soul. The whole question, there- 
fore, of the nature of man, the condition of the 
dead, and the destiny of the wicked, comes up for 
examination. 

Is the soul immortal? Whatsaith the Scripture? 
The word " immortal" occurs but once in the En- 
glish version of the Scriptures ; 1 Tim. 1:17; and 
there it is applied, not to man nor any part of man, 
but to God. The original word, however, from 
which this comes, aphthartos, occurs seven times in 

question ? 4. What else does this message bring to view 1 

5. In what terms is this threatening of punishment expressed 1 

6. What is this supposed to prove ? 7. What question does 
this therefore bring up 1 8. How many times is the word 
" immortal" used in the English version of the Scriptures? 
9. To whom is it then applied ? 10. What is the original 



NATURE AND DESTINY OF MAN. 115 

the New Testament ; and in the six other instances 
of its use it is rendered incorruptible, but is never 
applied to man. Its entire use is as follows, the 
rendering of the word being in italics : — 

Horn. 1 : 23, the glory of the uncorruptible God. 

1 Cor. 9 : 25, crown; but we an incorruptible. 

Chap. 15 : 52, dead shall be raised incorruptible. 

1 Tim. 1 : 17, unto the King, eternal, immortal. 

1 Pet. 1 : 4, to an inheritance incorruptible. 

Verse 23, incorruptible, by the word of God. 

Chap. 3 : 4, that which is not corruptible. 

It will thus be seen that in Rom. 1 : 23, it is ap- 
plied to God; in 1 Cor. 9 : 25, to the crown of im- 
mortality which we seek; in 1 Cor. 15 : 52, to the 
incorruptible bodies we receive in the resurrection; 
in 1 Pet. 1 : 4, to the future inheritance of the saints ; 
in verse 23, to the principle by which conversion is 
wrought in us; and in 1 Pet. 3 : 4, to the ornament 
of a meek and quiet spirit which we put on through 
Christ. 

But although man is nowhere called immortal, is 
not the equivalent declaration somewhere made that 
he has immortality? The word immortality occurs 
in the English Scriptures but five times; but it 
comes from two words in the Greek, and these occur 
in the ag^reo-ate eleven times. The first of these, 
athanasia, occurs but three times, and is every time 
rendered immortalitv as follows: — 



word from which immortal is translated ? 11. How many 
times is that word used in the New Testament ? 12. Give 
the texts of its occurrence. 13. By what word is it usually 
rendered % 14. To what is it applied '? 15. How many times 
is the word "immortality'' found in the English Scriptures? 
16. From how many Greek words is "immortality" trans- 
lated ? 17. How many times do these occur in the aggre- 



116 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

1 Cor. 15 : 53, this mortal must put on immor- 
tality. 

Verse 54, shall have put on immortality. 

1 Tim. 6:16, who only hath immortality. 

In these instances the word is applied to what we 
are to put on in the resurrection, and to God, who, 
it is declared, is the only one who by nature hath it. 
The other word, aphtharsia, occurs eight times as 
follows: — 

Rom. 2 : 7, glory and honor and immortality. 

1 Cor. 15 : 42, it is raised in incorruption. 
Verse 50, doth corruption inherit incorruption. 
Verse 53, must put on incorruption, and 
Verse 54, shall have put on incorruption, 

Eph. 6 : 24, love our Lord Jesus Christ in sin- 
cerity. 

2 Tim. 1 : 10, brought life and immortality to 
Titus 2 : 7, uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity. 

In all these instances it will be seen that the word is 
not once applied to man, but to that for which we 
are to seek, to that which we obtain by the resurrec- 
tion, to our love to Christ, to what Christ has 
brought to light, and to the doctrine we are to 
cherish. The way in which these words are used is 
very significant, and should have great weight in 
deciding this question. 

There is another fact perhaps more stupendous 
still. The words, soul and spirit, so often in mod- 
ern theological parlance joined with the words, im- 



gate ? 18. What is the first of these 1 19. How many times 
does this word occur ? 20. Name the texts. 21. How is it 
every time rendered 1 22. To what is it applied ? 23. What 
is the other word which is rendered immortality ? 24. How 
many times does it occur ? 25. Name the texts of its occur- 
ence. 26. To what is it applied l 27. What .should we 
conclude from the fact that man is never called immortal. 



NATURE AND DESTINY OF MAN. 11? 

mortal, deathless, and never dying, come from two 
words in the Hebrew, nephesk and ruach, and two 
corresponding words in the Greek, psuche and 
pneuma; and these words are used in the aggregate 
in the Old and New Testaments seventeen hundred 
times, and yet not once are the terms immortal,, 
deathless, or never dying, applied to them, or any 
other term which would convey the idea of an im- 
perishable nature or continued existence in either 
the soul or spirit. 

But man was made "in the image of God," Gen. 
1 : 26, therefore, say our popular theologians, he 
was made immortal. But this image did not con- 
sist of immortality any more than it did in omnip- 
otence, omniscience, omnipresence, or any other 
attribute of God. It had reference only to out- 
ward shape and form ; for God is a person and has 
form. Phil. 2:6; Heb. 1:3; Rev. 5:1; Dan. 7 : 
9; Ex. 24 : 10; 33 : 20-23. Where the word image 
is used in a figurative sense, it is applied to some- 
thing which we do not possess by nature, but which 
we must put on. Col. 3 : 10, explained by Eph. 4 : 
23, 24. 

It is further said that when God created man, he 
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, or, as it 
is interpreted, imparted to him a deathless spirit, or 
immortal nature. Gen. 2 : 7. But this breath of 
life cannot denote an immortal soul, unless we ad- 
mit that immortality is also an attribute of the brute 

nor is once said to have immortality 1 28. What other stu- 
pendous fact is discovered in the Bible 1 29. What claim is 
based on Gen. 1 : 26? 30. If image there means immortality, 
what else does it mean ? 31. To what has it reference ? 32. 
Has God a form ? Proof. 33. To what is the word image 
applied in a figurative sense 1 References. 34. What is the 
breath of life, in Gen. 2 : 7, supposed to mean 1 35. If we 



118 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

creation; for all animals have the same breath of 
life. Gen. 7 : 22. If it be urged that the word life 
in Gen. 2 : 7 is plural, "breath of lives" from which 
some attempt to argue both the animal life and im- 
mortality, we reply that the word is. also plural in 
Gen. 7 : 22, and in Gen 2 : 9. 

But man became a "living soul,'* which proves 
that he was endowed with an immortal soul. We 
answer, not unless we are willing to grant the same 
to all the lower animals; for they are all called by 
the same Hebrew terms. In Gen. 1 : 22-24, the 
"living creature" is from the same Hebrew words 
that are translated "living soul" in Gen. 2 : 7. 
And in verse 20, the word "life" is from the He- 
brew "soul," margin, and in Rev. 16 : 3 we read 
about "living souls" in the sea. 

Gen. 35 : 18: "And it came to pass as her soul 
was in departing; for she died." The word here 
rendered soul, nephesh, is sometimes rendered breath, 
and Parkhurst, the distinguished lexicographer, says 
that it should be so translated here. A parallel case 
is found in 1 Kings 17 : 17-24. "The soul of the 
child came into him again." Verse 22. We are 
told in verse 17 what it was that had left the child. 
It was the breath; and this, the breath of life, re- 
turned, and he lived again. 

Eccl. 3 : 21 "Who knoweth the spirit of man that 



admit this of man what must we admit of the brute creation ? 
36. Where is the word in the plural '/ 37. What argument is 
based on the term living soul '( 38. To what else is this 
term applied besides man 1 References. 39. What is the 
word for soul in Gen. 35 : 18 1 40. How does Parkhurst say- 
that it should be translated? 41. What is, then, the ex- 
planation of this passage ? 42. What parallel case is found 
and how explained 1 43. What does Solomon assert in Eccl. 



-NATURE AND DESTINY OF MAN. 119 

goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth 
downward to the earth?" Solomon does not here 
assert that there is a difference between the spirit of 
man and beast, for he had just said that they all 
have one breath, verse 19, which is the same word 
that is here rendered spirit. But properly trans- 
lated, his words are interrogative: "Who knoweth 
that the spirit of man goeth upward," etc. So Mil- 
ton, the Douay Bible, Septuagint, Vulgate, Chaldee 
Paraphrase, and Syriac version, render it. 

Eccl. 12:7: "The spirit shall return unto God 
who gave it." Very well, what is this spirit, or 
what did God give to man? The only record we 
have of man's creation says that God gave him the 
"breath of life." How could the breath of life go 
to God? It could go to him in the same sense in 
which it could come from him. But if we say, ac- 
cording to the popular view, that the spirit goes to 
God as a separate, conscious, intelligent entity, it 
commits us to the doctrine of the pre-existence of 
souls; for, on that ground, it must have come from 
him in the same condition. 

Samuel and the witch of Endor, 1 Sam. 28 : 3-20. 
It was not Samuel's immortal soul which appeared 
on this occasion; because it was an old man covered 
with a mantle that came up; and immortal souls 
are not of that a^e or form, nor clothed in that man- 

3 : 21 1 44 Is the word breath in verse 19, from the same 
Hebrew that is translated spirit in verse 21 't 45. What is 
the proper translation of verse 21 ? 46. What authorities 
sustain such a translation 1 47. What expression is found 
in Eccl. 12 : 7 1 48. What is this supposed to prove 1 49. 
What did God give man in the beginning \ 50. How could 
the breath of life go to God ? 51. If the spirit goes to God 
as a conscious, intelligent entity, what conclusion are we 
compelled to admit 1 52. Where is found the record of Sam- 
uel and the witch of Endor] 53. Was it Samuel's immor 



120 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

ner. Again, this old man came up out of the earth, 
but immortal souls are not down there, they're up 
in Heaven, we are told. Moreover it is not proba- 
ble that God, having prohibited necromancy, this 
pretended communication with the dead, and hav- 
ing forsaken Saul so that he would not answer him 
by prophets, nor in any legitimate way, should now 
permit this abandoned woman to summon at will 
the soul of his servant Samuel from the upper 
spheres. The whole transaction was simply a piece 
of ancient spiritism, Satanic deception, played oft' 
upon God-forsaken Saul. 

Matt. 10 :28: "Fear not them which kill the 
body, but are not able to kill the soul ; but rather 
fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body 
in hell." Because the term soul is used here, and it 
is said that it cannot be killed, the conclusion is at 
once drawn that here is an immortal part of man 
that lives right on in death. But this text is con- 
clusive against the immortality of the soul, whatever 
it is, inasmuch as it is a declaration that God will 
destroy in hell the souls of all those who do not f ear 
and serve him. And it does not necessarily prove 
an intermediate conscious state; for the word soul 
here is from psuche, which is forty times rendered 
life in the New Testament, and the word to kill, 
may be rendered to destroy. Now what has the 
Christian which man cannot destroy? Man can 

tal soul that appeared on that occasion? 54. What reason 
can be given for saying that it was not ? 55. What was this 
exhibition 1 56. What conclusion is drawn from our Lord's 
words in Matt. 10 : 28 I 57. What does this text prove re- 
specting the immortality of the soul ? 58. What is the 
Greek word here translated soul 1 59. How many times is this 
rendered life in the New Testament I 60. How may the 
word kill be rendered I 61. What has the Christian which 



NATURE AND DESTINY OF MAN. 121 

destroy the body, he can deprive us of our life here; 
but he cannot deprive us of our future life, which 
we have by the promise of the Son of God. "And 
this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal 
life, and this life is in his Son." 1 John 5 : 11. 
"Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in 
God." Col. 3 : 3. This life men cannot touch, this 
soul they cannot destroy. Matt. 10 : 39 furnishes 
an excellent comment on Matt. 10 : 28. Thus "He 
that fiudeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth 
his life for my sake shall find it." The word here 
rendered life is psuclie, the same that is rendered 
soul in verse 28. He that findeth his psiiche, life, 
shall lose his psiiche, life. What does this mean? 
Simply this: He that seeks, at the expense of truth 
and moral integrity, to save his life, psiiche, here, 
shall lose his life, psiiche, in the world to come; but 
he who is willing to lose his life, psiiche, here, will- 
ing that men should destroy it for the sake of 
Christ and his truth, shall find his life, psiiche, in 
the world to come. Here is the psiiche, life, soul, 
which man cannot destroy, and therefore we are not 
to fear him, for our present life is of no account com- 
pared with the eternal life of Heaven ; but God can 
deprive us of this future life, and him we are there- 
fore to fear, instead of fearing men. There is there- 
fore no conscious state brought to view here be- 
tween death and the resurrection. 

The transfiguration. Matt. 17 : 1-9. On the 
mount of transfiguration Moses and Eli as appeared 

man cannot destroy? References. 62. What bearing has 
Matt. 10 : 39 on verse 28 ? 63. What is meant by losing 
and finding one's life ? 64. Is there, then, any conscious 
intermediate state brought to view in Matt. 10 : 2S ? 65. 
Where is an account given of the transfiguration? 66. How 



122 SYNOPSIS OF THE PEESENT TRUTH. 

with Christ. Moses had died hundreds of years be- 
fore this ; hense it is claimed here was an immortal 
soul. But this will not do ; for this was a represen- 
tation of the kingdom of God, 2 Pet. 1 : 16-18, and 
there will be no disembodied immortal souls there. 
We claim that Moses had been raised from the dead, 
and was there in his resurrected body, as a repre- 
sentative of all those who will be raised from the 
dead, as Elias was a representative of those who will 
be translated without seeing death. Dr. Clarke, and 
other commentators, admit this. The allusion to the 
body of Moses in Jude 9, proves this. The only 
objection to it is that Christ was to be the first to 
rise from the dead. But the reader will find those 
passages which speak of Christ as the first fruits, 1 
Cor. 15 : 20, 23, or the first begotten, Heb. 1:6; 
Rev. 1 : 5, or the first born among many brethren, 
Rom. 8 : 29; Col. 1 : 15,18, to refer to his office as 
antitype, or to his position as head or chief, the one 
upon whom all depended. While the passage in 
Acts 26 : 23 asserts, not that he should be absolutely 
the first to rise from the dead, for we have the rec- 
ord of six instances before this, but simply that he 
first by a resurrection from the dead should show 
light to the Gentiles. The scene of the transfigura- 
tion to be accounted for, demands the resurrection 
of Moses. And the objections all being removed, 
that hypothesis stands. 

is this used to prove the immortality of the soul 1 67. What 
did this scene represent ? Reference. 68. What class did 
Moses represent ? 69. What does Dr. Clarke admit in refer- 
ence to Moses 1 70. How does Jude 9 prove the resurrec- 
tion of Moses 1 71. What objection is urged against this I 
72. What texts speak of Christ as first fruits, first begotten, 
etc.? 73. To what do they refer? 74 How is the scene of 
the transfiguration, then, explained ? 



CHAPTER XIII 



Nature and Destiny of Man — {Continued), 

Christ and the Sadducees. Matt. 22 : 23-32. " T 

am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and 
the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, 
but of the living." From this it is claimed that 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, though their bodies had 
been laid in the grave ages before, were still alive 
when Christ spoke these words, and it must have 
been as disembodied spirits in the spirit world. But 
hold, this was not the point under discussion. The 
question up was the resurrection which Christ 
taught and the Sadducees denied. They bring up 
the case of the woman who had had seven husbands, 
and inquire whose wife she shall be (not whose 
wife she now is in the spirit world, but whose she 
shall be) in the resurrection when she is raised, and 
all the seven men who had been her husbands here, 
are raised also. Christ first nullifies their objection 
by telling them that in the resurrection we are 
raised to a higher state of being, and the marriage 
relation no longer exists. Then he appeals to a 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER THIRTEEN. 

1. What is claimed from the words of Christ to the Sad- 
ducees ? 2. "What was the question under consideration ? 3. 
What was the difficulty the Sadducees presented ? 4. How 
does Christ answer their difficulty I 5. To what does he then 

PL 231 



124 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

source of authority which they acknowledge, the 
writings of Moses, to show that their doctrine of no 
resurrection, and consequently no future existence, 
was contrary to their own Scriptures. "But as 
touching the resurrection of the dead [that is, that 
the dead will be raised, which you deny] have ye 
not read that which was spoken unto you by God, 
saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of 
Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? " These words are 
found in Ex. 3:6; and let it be marked that they 
were not spoken while Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 
were living, but to Moses, long after they were dead. 
Now if they were forever dead, as the Sadducees 
believed, then God called himself the God of some- 
thing which did not exist, which would be an im- 
peachment of his wisdom and power. But if they 
were to have a resurrection and future existence, 
God could still call himself their God; for he to 
whom both past and future are an eternal present, 
can speak of " those things that are not " (but are 
to be) "as though they were." Rom. 4: 17. These 
words of God respecting Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
were, therefore, under the circumstances, conclusive 
proof that they will live again; and if they, then 
all the righteous dead; and hence the doctrine of 
Christ against the Sadducees was maintained. But 
no conscious intermediate state is here taught. 

The rich man and Lazarus. Luke 16:19-31. 
"The rich man also died, and was buried; and in 



appeal 1 6. Where are the words found which Christ quotes ? 
7. When were they spoken ? 8. How did these words dis- 
prove the doctrine of the Sadducees? 9. What is the case 
of the rich man and Lazarus supposed to prove 1 10. Does 
the narrative say anything about the soul of either the rich 
man or Lazarus 2 11. From what word in the Greek is the 



NATURE AND DESTINY OF MAN. 125 

hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments." With 
the utmost confidence it is claimed that this was the 
rich man's soul; but the narrative says nothing 
about his soul. The word rendered " hell " is hades, 
but hades is not the place of punishment, not the 
hell, gehenna, of the wicked. It is simply the place 
of the dead, where all alike go, both righteous and 
wicked. The narrative says nothing about the soul 
of Lazarus, but says that lie was carried by the 
angels into Abraham's bosom. When do the angels 
carry the saints into the kingdom of God ? At the 
second coming of Christ, but not before. As literal 
events, this scene must have its location beyond the 
resurrection, and hence proves nothing respecting 
the intermediate state. But if it is not a literal 
narrative, it is simply a parable; and then it proves 
nothing for consciousness in death; for in a parable, 
language is used figuratively, and life and intelli- 
gence are attributed to inanimate objects; and no 
doctrine can be based on parables; it must have the 
most literal and explicit language. 

The narrative of the rich man and Lazarus is a 
parable ; for it stands in connection with a notable 
list of narratives which are all acknowledged to be 
parables. Its object was to rebuke the Pharisees for 
their covetousness, verse 14, and to correct their 
false idea, that riches in this world were a mark of 



word " hell " here translated ? 12. Is hades the place of pun- 
ishment I 13. What is the place of punishment I 14. What 
is hades ? 15. What was carried into Abraham's bosom ? 
16. When are the saints carried by the angels into the king- 
dom 1 17. If this narrative is literal, where must the scene 
be located? 18. What then does it prove concerning the 
intermediate state ? 19. If it is not literal, what is it I 20. 
What does it then prove ? 21. Is it literal or a parable ? 
22. What shows it to be a parable 1 23. W 7 hat was its object? 



126 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

God's favor, and a sure passport to bliss hereafter. 
And having represented the rich man as awaking 
from his terrible delusion, and desiring that his 
brethren might be informed, it is shown that Abra- 
ham does not send one raised from the dead to in- 
struct them, but refers them to Moses and the proph- 
ets. While the Jews were thus referred to Moses 
and the prophets more especially in reference to fut- 
ure reward and punishment, modern theology needs 
to go to Moses and the prophets for instruction re- 
specting the place, hades, where this scene is located. 
What have these inspired writers told us about 
hades, and the condition of those who go there ? 
The word in Hebrew which corresponds to the Greek 
word hades, and means the same thing, is sheol. 
This word is used sixty -five times in the Old Tes- 
tament, and is translated hell and grave thirty-one 
times each, and pit three times; and we are taught 
respecting it, 1. That all alike go there. Num. 16: 

30, 33; Ps. 89:48. 2. That the whole man goes 
there. Gen. 42:38; Ps. 30:1, 3; Acts 2:27, 31. 
3. That it holds dominion till the second coming of 
Christ. 1 Cor. 15: 51-55. 4. That it is located in 
the earth beneath. Eze. 51:15-18. 5. That the 
righteous dead do not praise the Lord there. Ps. 
6:5; 146:1-4; Isa. 38: 10-19. 6. That the wicked 
are all silent there. Ps. 31:17; 1 Sam. 2:9. 7. 
That it is a place of silence, secrecy, sleep, rest, dark- 

24. To what are they referred for instruction 1 25. What is 
the Hebrew word corresponding to hades ? 26. How many 
times is this word used in the Old Testament ? 27. How 
is it translated 1 28. Who go into sheol ? References. 29. 
In what condition do we go there 1 References. 30. How 
long does it hold dominion over its subjects? References. 

31. Where is it located ? References. 32. What is the con- 
dition of the righteous there? References. 33. What is 
the condition of the wicked there ? References. 34. What 



NATURE AND DESTINY OF MAN. 127 

ness, corruption, and worms, in which there is no 
work, device, wisdom, or knowledge. Job 14: 11-19; 
17:13-16; Eccl. 9:4-6, 10. 

We have also in the Old Testament, representa- 
tions precisely similar to this in Luke 16, respecting 
the inhabitants of sheol. Multitudes who have gone 
down to the grave through the oppression of tyran- 
nical kings, are represented as lying with their 
swords under their heads, and worms covering them, 
and yet as rising up and paying mock obeisance to 
their oppressors when they come into sheol, and 
taunting them with becoming weak as themselves. 
See the address to the king of Babylon in Isa. 14: 
9-11, and the lamentation for Egypt in Eze. 32: 18— 
32. So in the case of the rich man and Lazarus. 
The rich man in hades, where, as they were fully 
instructed, there was no knowledge, consciousness, 
nor life, is nevertheless represented by the figure of 
personification, as living and acting as there repre- 
sented. And the object Avas to show that the next 
state of being after the present (passing over the 
intermediate unconscious state) will be one of tor- 
ment and suffering to the ungodly, covetous rich 
man, but one of happiness and bliss to the righteous 
poor. With the language of the Old Testament 
before them respecting sheol, and the parables re- 
specting the king of Babylon and Egypt, the Jews 
would readily understand it. It was not given to 
show the nature of hades, nor the condition of those 
who go there, and hence is not to be used for that 
purpose. 

is its general character ? References. 35. "What other rep- 
resentations have we in the Old Testament on this point ? 
References. 36. How do these explain the parable of the 
rich man and Lazarus ? 37. Where is found the record of 
Christ's words to the thief on the cross ? 38. What are these 



128 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

The thief on the cross. Luke 23 : 39-43 is sup- 
posed to contain another strong proof of the con- 
scious state of the dead, in the words of Christ to 
the thief on the cross. The thief's request was, 
" Lord, remember me when thou c'omest into thy 
kingdom." To which Christ made answer, "Verily 
I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in 
paradise." How could the thief be with Christ in 
paradise that day, it is triumphantly asked, unless 
by means of a disembodied conscious spirit ? If he 
was to be with him in paradise that very day, it 
must have been in the form of an immortal soul, 
unless he had been raised from the dead, or been 
translated. But there are two objections to the 
common view of this matter: the first is that Christ 
did not go to paradise that day, and the second is 
that the thief did not die that day, so that his im- 
mortal soul did not leave his body. Either of these 
propositions established, destroys entirely the popular 
view of the passage; and we know that one of them 
is true, — that Christ did not go to paradise that day, — 
because he told Mary, on the day of his resurrection, 
three days after his crucifixion, that he had not yet 
ascended to his Father. But where his Father was 
there was paradise. 2 Cor. 12: 2, 4; Eev. 2:7; 22: 
1, 2. He had not therefore at that time been to 
paradise; and consequently the thief could not have 
been with him in paradise on the day of his cruci- 
fixion. 



words supposed to prove'? 39. What was the thief's re- 
quest? 40. What was Christ's answer? 41. How is the 
argument then stated ? 42. What two objections arise to 
the common view of this passage? 43. How is it proved 
that Christ did not go to paradise that day ? 44. Where 
are his words to Mary found ? 45. Where is paradise 1 



NATURE AND DESTINY OF MAN. 129 

In regard to the second proposition, that the thief 
did not die that day, we have a strong inference if 
not absolute proof in this fact: When the Jews de- 
sired that the bodies might be taken down from the 
cross just before the Sabbath, because no bodies 
could remain there over the Sabbath, the soldiers 
broke the legs of the two thieves, but coming to 
Christ and seeing that he was dead already they 
brake not his legs. The thieves therefore were not 
dead. Now the breaking of their legs must have 
been for one of two purposes, either to hasten their 
death, or to prevent their escape, after being released 
from the cross. But their immediate death was not 
the object sought. It was only to get them off from 
the cross ; and inasmuch as persons on the cross are 
said to live from three to eight days, it is not at all 
probable that breaking their legs near the close of 
the day would cause them to die before the day 
ended. 

If, then, the Lord did not go to paradise that day, 
and the thief did not die, and so he did not go, how 
can the passage be explained ? Place the comma 
after to-day, instead of before it, and all is clear. 
With this change, Christ does not say to him that 
he shall be with him that day in paradise, but he 
simply says to him that day that he shall be with 
him in paradise when he comes in his kingdom, and 
this is just what the thief requested. As to the 
punctuation, we have a right to make this change, 
if the sense demands it; for the punctuation of the 
Bible is but the work of men and of comparatively 

References. 46. From what circumstances do we infer that 
the thief did not die that day 1 47. How then is the passage 
to be explained ? 48. Have we a right to make such changes 
in the punctuation 1 49. When 1 50. What is the compar- 
ative date when punctuation was first used ? 51. When was 

9 



130 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

recent origin, the comma in its present form not 
having been invented till the year 1490. A parallel 
expression is found in Zech. 9:12. Some Greek 
manuscripts, according to Griesbach, place the 
comma after to-day, in Luke 23: 43. Thus punct- 
uated, it is consistent with itself and with other 
scriptures. 

Absent from the body. In 2 Cor. 5 : 8 Paul says : 
"We are confident, I say, and willing rather, to 
be absent from the body, and to be present with 
the Lord." This text is urged with great assurance 
as proving a conscious intermediate state. But the 
essential point in the argument is lacking ; for Paul 
does not say that we are present with the Lord just 
as soon as we leave the body. Granting that by 
absence from the body he means our condition in 
death, he does not tell us how long it is after we 
are thus absent from the body before we are present 
with the Lord. The first part of the chapter ex- 
plains this verse. In our earthly house of this taber- 
nacle, in this present mortal state, we groan, desir- 
ing, not to be unclothed, as we are in death, but to 
be clothed upon with our house from Heaven, or to 
reach the eternal, immortal state promised to the be- 
liever. .And when we reach this, "mortality is 
swallowed up of life." Verse 4. But when is mor- 
tality swallowed np of life ? When our mor- 
tal body is made immortal. Paul had written to 
the Corinthian church very plainly on this subject 
in his first epistle. He had spoken about this mor- 

the comma in its present form invented 1 52. Where do we 
find a parallel expression ? 53. What is Griesbach's testi- 
mony ? 54. Punctuated in this manner, does this text prove 
anything in regard to the intermediate state ? 55. Where 
does Paul speak about being absent from the body ? 56. 



NATURE AND DESTINY OF ]\IAN. 131 

tal being made immortal, and this corruptible being 
made incorruptible, which is the same thing as mor- 
tality being swallowed up of life. And when is 
this ? Not when we die, but at the last trump, 
when Christ appears, and the dead are raised. 1 
Cor. 15:52-55. Then is the time when we are 
present with the Lord, not before, nor by any other 
means. John 14:3; 1 Thess. 4:17. 

In the body and out. In 2 Cor. 12:2-4 Paul 
speaks of a man, " in the body or out," he could not 
tell which, caught up to paradise, etc. Here, it is 
said, such a condition is recognized as "out of the 
body." Very well, what does it mean ? Believers 
in the immortality of the soul say that it means 
that the soul or spirit is separated from the body. 
But what condition is a person then in ? According 
to popular theology, the person is dead when he is 
out of the body; for the separation of soul and body 
is death. Now what is Paul's subject ? Visions. 
Verse 1. He here describes the visions with which 
he had been favored; and while he was in vision he 
did not know whether he was in the body or out. 
If he was out of the bodv, according to our friends, 
he was dead ; and when he came into the body again 
he had a resurrection. Do they believe that Paul, 



What is this supposed to prove 1 57. What is lacking in 
this proof ? 58. Where is this verse explained ? 59. What 
does Paul mean by our earthly house ? CO. What does he 
mean by being unclothed ] 61. What by our house from 
Heaven I 62. When we reach this, what happens 1 63. 
When is mortality swallowed up of life ? References. 64. 
By what means are we brought into the presence of the 
Lord? References. 65. Where does Paul speak of being in 
the body and out ? 66. What do believers in natural im- 
mortality say this means 1 67. W T hat is, in popular parlance, 
the separation of soul and body 1 68. What is Paul's sub- 
ject here ? 69. What absurdity is involved in the common 



132 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

when he had a vision, died, and was raised from 
the dead when he came out of vision, or that he 
designed to teach that such a condition of things 
was possible ? They must accept this absurdity, or 
surrender this text. 

Departing and being with Christ. Phil. 1:21- 
24: ''For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a 
desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far 
better." The only way in which this text can be 
made to do service in behalf of the conscious inter- 
mediate state, is to connect the being with Christ 
immediately with the departing. But Paul does 
not so connect them. The next thing of which the 
person is conscious after departing is being with 
Christ. But this does not preclude the idea that a 
long space might be passed over in unconsciousness. 
And such a period the apostle would of necessity 
pass over in silence, as it is an utter blank to the 
individual, and the change from one state to the 
other seems to him to be instantaneous. Bishop 
Law says: "The Scriptures, in speaking of the con- 
nection between our present and future being, do not 
take into the account our intermediate state in 
death ; no more than we, in describing the course of 
any man's actions, take into account the time he 
sleeps. Therefore the Scriptures (to be consistent 
with themselves) must affirm an immediate connec- 
tion between death and the Judgment." 

Paul has in other places told us very definitely 

view of this passage ? 70. What famous expression is found 
in Phil. 1 : 21-24 1 71. How is this text made to serve the 
popular cause ? 72. Does Paul make this connection? 73. 
Of what is the Christian next conscious after death? 74. 
Does this preclude the idea of a period of unconscious rest 
in the grave 1 75. What is Bishop Law's testimony ? 76. 



NATUEE AND DESTINY OF MAN. 133 

when we go to be with Christ. Rom. 8: 23; 1 Cor. 
15: 51-54; Phil. 3: 20, 21; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 4: 16, 
17; 2 Thess. 1:7; 2 Tim. 4:8; Heb. 11:39, 40. 
His testimony in Phil. 1 : 23, must not therefore be 
interpreted in such a way as to contradict these 
statements. Hence it cannot be used in support of 
the theory of the conscious intermediate state. 

Spirits of just men made perfect. Paul uses this 
expression in Heb. 12:23; and this is supposed by 
some to be a confirmation of the idea of the separate 
conscious existence of the spirit of man. But Paul 
speaks of no such thing. He does not speak of 
spirits made perfect, but of men made perfect. 
And when are men made perfect ? If we take it in 
the absolute sense, it is not till after the resurrection, 
when the body is redeemed, and mortality is clothed 
with immortality. Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 
Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2. If it is in an accommo- 
dated sense, then it must refer to the perfection of 
Christian character we are able to acquire under the 
gospel, through* the offering of Christ. Many, fol- 
lowing Dr. Clarke, think it refers to this, as Paul 
is here setting forth the superiority of the blessings 
and advantages we enjoy under the gospel, over 
those enjoyed under the former dispensation. But 
in either case this scripture would have no bearing 
on the question of consciousness in death. It is 

What has Paul told us in other places? References. 77. 
What do these scriptures teach ? 78. How, then, must we 
treat Paul's testimony in Phil. 1 : 23 \ 79. What use is 
made of Paul's testimony in Heb. 12 : 23 ? 80. What does 
Paul speak of here ? 81. When are men made perfect ? 
References. 82. What is Dr. Clarke's admission on this 
passage 1 83. What is Paul here setting forth \ 84. What 
two conditions are the only ones referred to] 85. What 
bearing, then, has it on the intermediate state ? 86. What 



134 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

either fulfilled entirely in the present state, or it 
has its application beyond the resurrection. 

The spirits in prison. 1 Pet. 3: 19. " By which 
also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison." 
This is supposed to be a strong text in favor of the 
intermediate conscious state of the dead; for here 
were spirits in prison, supposed to mean in the grave, 
or in death, and they must have been conscious and 
intelligent, because they were preached to. We in- 
quire who these spirits were ? The following verse 
says: "Which sometime were disobedient, when 
once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of 
Noah, while the ark was a preparing." 

The persons meant by the word spirits are there- 
fore the wicked a itediluvians. But what is meant 
by their being in prison ? In Isaiah 61: 1 is found 
a prophecy concerning the work of Christ, and it is 
said that he should proclaim liberty to the captives, 
and the opening of the prison to them that are 
bound. This prophecy is quoted by our Lord him- 
self in Luke 4: 18 and an application" made of it to 
his own work. The situation of the antediluvians 
while Noah was preaching to them was similar to 
that of those to whom Christ preached. They were 
in darkness and error and under the condemnation 
of death. Therefore the antediluvians may likewise 
have been said to be in prison, while Noah was 
preaching to them. 

We inquire further who it was that preached to 
these spirits ? It was Christ. When did he preach ? 
In the days of Noah while the ark was preparing. 

testimony is found in 1 Pet. 3 : 19 ? 87. What is this sup- 
posed to mean 1 88. Who were these spirits ? 89. What is 
meant by their being in prison l 90. When and by whom 
were they preached to 1 91. How could Christ preach 



NATUKE AND DESTINY OF MAN. 135 

Through whom did he preach ? Through Noah. 
Dr. Adam Clarke takes the same view of this pas- 
sage, that the preaching was done by the spirit of 
Christ in Noah. It therefore has no bearing upon 
this question of the intermediate state of the dead. 

There are some absurdities connected with the 
common view which deserve to be noticed. If these 
spirits were the spirits of the wicked antediluvians, 
and the preaching was done by the spirit of Christ 
while his body lay in the grave, these spirits were 
then in hell; and we inquire, Why should the spirit 
of Christ go down into hell to preach to the antedi- 
luvians ? Could they be benefited by it ? No. 
Then what was the object of it ? Here is a diffi- 
culty which popular theologians are not able to 
solve. 

But further, before the preaching is spoken of, the 
quickening or resurrection of Christ is brought to 
view, verse 18, therefore it could not have been by 
the disembodied spirit of Christ that this preaching 
was done while he lay in the grave. 

The souls under the altar. Kev. 6:9. "And 
when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the 
altar the souls of them that were slain for the word 
of God and for their testimony which they held." 
Here it is claimed are souls brought to view in a 
disembodied state, conscious, and active, crying unto 
God for vengeance. These souls were seen under 
the altar. What altar ? Evidently the altar of sac- 
rifice where they Avere slain. Is there such an altar 

through Noah ? 92. What is Dr. Adam Clarke's view of this 
passage 1 93. What absurdity attaches itself to the common 
interpretation of this passage ? 94. If the preaching was 
done by Christ personally, when was it done ] 95. What 
claim is made on Rev. 6 ; 9 ? 96. What altar is brought to 



136 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

as that in Heaven ? and are the saints there shut 
up under such an altar ? Dr. Clarke says this altar 
was upon the earth, and that these souls were the 
victims of papal persecution; and they are repre- 
sented as having fallen down by the altar where 
they were slain. But if they are not conscious in 
Heaven, it is asked, how could they cry to God for 
vengeance ? We answer, By the figure of personifi- 
cation, just as Abel's blood is represented as crying 
to God, or the stone out of the wall, and the beam 
out of the timber, spoken of by Habakkuk 2:11, 
or as the wages of the laborers spoken of by James 
5 : 4. These souls cried for their blood to be avenged ; 
but do immortal souls have blood ? And who were 
those upon whom they called for vengeance ? Their 
persecutors. And where were these persecutors ? 
If dead, according to the popular view, they were in 
hell. And as that view further represents, they 
were right before the face and eyes of those saints 
in Heaven. This, it is claimed is taught by the 
parable of the rich man and Lazarus. How, then, 
could they call for vengeance upon them ? Was it 
not vengeance enough for them to be tormented in 
the flames of hell ? How amiable does this make 
these righteous souls appear! And if we say that 
those persecutors were not then dead, in the natu- 
ral course of things they would soon be in hell, tor- 
mented, it would seem, as fiercely as any one could 
wish. Such is the absurdity that is attached to the 
popular view of this text. 



view ? 97. Is there such an altar in Heaven ? 98. Is it con- 
sistent to suppose that souls are shut up under an altar in 
Heaven? 99. What is Dr. Clarke's view of this matter? 100. 
If not conscious, how can they cry for vengeance? References. 
101. What is the first absurdity involved in the common 
view? 102. What is the second? 103. How could white 



NATURE AND DESTINY OF MAN. .137 

But how, it is asked further, could white robes be 
given unto them ? We answer, those were given in 
the Reformation when the characters of these martyrs 
were vindicated from the aspersions of their Romish 
executioners. We find, therefore, in this testimony 
no evidence for the doctrine of the conscious state of 
the dead. 

In Rev. 19: 10 and 22: 9 John fell down to wor- 
ship at the feet of the angel who was employed in 
giving him his revelation. In restraining him, the 
angel said, " See that thou do it not, for I am thy 
fellow-servant and of thy brethren, the prophets." 
Here it is claimed that the angel asserted that he 
was one of the old prophets, of course communica- 
ting with John in his disembodied state. But the 
angel does not say this. He says simply, "I am 
thy fellow-servant and the fellow-servant of thy 
brethren, the prophets." He had been employed in 
imparting to them divine revelations as he was now 
doing to John. 

We notice one more text that is supposed to teach 
the conscious intermediate state of the dead. Gen. 
25:8: " Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died 
in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and 
was gathered to his people." It is said that Abraham 
was not buried where his fathers were buried, there- 
fore this could not apply to his body, but it must 
be that his spirit went to be with the spirits of his 
fathers in the spirit world. We therefore inquire 
where his fathers were ? We learn from Joshua 



robes be given them 1 104. What argument for conscious- 
ness in death is drawn from Rev. 19 : 10 ; 22 : 9 ? 105. What 
did the angel mean by the language he addressed to John ? 
106. What is said in Gen. 25:8? 107. What argument is 
drawn from this \ 108. Where were Abraham's fathers 1 



138 • SYNOPSIS OF THE PEESENT TKUTH. 

24 : 2 that his fathers were idolaters and died such. 
They were consequently according to the popular 
view in hell. Now if the spirit of Abraham went 
to be with the spirits of his fathers, he went, accord- 
ing to this view, inevitably to hell. But the theory 
which leads to such absurdity must be abandoned. 
We have a parallel expression in the case of David. 
Paul says in Acts 13: 36, that David was laid unto 
his fathers — which of course means the same as 
being gathered to his people ; but Paul continues — 
after he was thus gathered unto his fathers, he saw 
corruption. This explodes the idea of the conscious 
existence of the soul in the spirit world. 



109. How does this argument inevitably dispose of Abra- 
ham? 110. What must be done with such an argument? 
111. Where do we find a parallel expression? 112. What 
does the testimony show ? 










CHAPTER XIV, 



State of the Dead. 

We have now examined all the more important 
texts that are supposed to teach the consciousness of 
the dead between death and the resurrection, or 
such as are used as objections to the view that man 
has not by nature an immortal soul. With a brief 
examination of the positive testimony of the Script- 
ures on this point we shall pass to the other branch 
of the subject, namely, the destiny of the wicked. 

The sentence which God pronounced upon trans- 
gression in the garden of Eden was death. " In the 
day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." 
After Adam had sinned and the sentence was to be 
put into execution, God addressed Adam thus : " In 
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou 
return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou 
taken; for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou 
return." 

What part of Adam was addressed by this lan- 
guage ? Was it the body or the soul ? We are told 
that the soul is the intelligent, responsible part of 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 

1. What sentence did God pronounce upon transgression 
in Eden ? 2. When God explained the sentence to Adam, 
what language did he use ? 3. What part of Adam was 
addressed by this language 1 4. What part of man is the 

[139] 



140 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

man, that incurs guilt by transgression and is enti- 
tled to reward for obedience. But that part which 
did transgress was addressed in this sentence; and 
the personal pronouns, thou and thy, are five times 
used in addressmg-this sentence to Adam. Certainly 
this must have been the intelligent, responsible man, 
and the sentence pronounced upon it was, "Dust 
thou art and unto dust shalt thou return." 

If it is said that this refers simply to the body, 
then we ask if the same personal pronoun thou used 
by Christ in his address to the thief on the cross, 
meant simply his body. If it did not there, it does 
not here. Our friends must be consistent in their 
interpretation of the scriptures. 

The penalty pronounced upon Adam, in which we 
are all involved, can therefore be understood in no 
other way than as meaning the reduction of the real 
responsible man to the dust of the ground, to a con- 
dition of utter unconsciousness. 

There is another doctrine taught in the Scriptures 
which has an important bearing upon this question, 
and that is the resurrection of the dead. It is over 
and over again stated in the word of God, that there 
is to be a resurrection of the dead. But what need 
is there of this, if the soul exists in a conscious, in- 
telligent condition without the body ? 

William Tyndale says: "And ye in putting them 



soul said to be? 5. Was the part which did transgress 
addressed in the sentence ? 6. How many times were the 
personal pronouns thou and thy used in presenting this sen- 
tence to Adam ? 7. To what did these pronouns refer ? 8. 
What is shown by the same pronoun in Christ's words to the 
thief on the cross ? 9. What therefore was the penalty pro- 
nounced upon Adam] 10. What other doctrine of the 
Scriptures has an important bearing upon this question? 

11. What is stated over and over again in the word of God? 

12. What need is there of a resurrection if the soul is con- 



STATE OF THE DEAD. 141 

(souls) in heaven, hell, and purgatory, destroy the 
argument wherewith Christ and Paul prove the 
resurrection. 

Andrew Carniichael (Theology of the Scripture, 
Vol. 2, p. 315) says: "It cannot be too often re- 
peated: If there be an immortal soul, there is no 
resurrection ; and if there be any resurrection, there 
is no immortal soul." 

Dr. Muller (Christian Doctrine of Sin, p. 318) 
says: "The Christian faith in immortality is indis- 
solubly connected with a promise of a future resur- 
rection of the dead." 

Again, death is compared to sleep, and there must 
be some analogy between the state of sleep and the 
state of death. And this analogy must pertain to 
that which renders sleep a peculiar condition. Our 
condition in sleep differs from our condition when 
awake simply in this, that when we are soundly 
asleep we are entirely unconscious. In this respect, 
then, death is like sleep, that is, the dead are un- 
conscious, and without the resurrection they will for- 
ever remain so. 

Speaking of the dead man, Job says, 14: 21 : "His 
sons come to honor and he knoweth it not, and they 
are brought low and he perceiveth it not of them." 
David says, Psalm 146: 4: "His breath goeth forth, 
he returneth to his earth; in that very day his 
thoughts perish." Solomon spoke to the same ef- 

scious in death ? 13. What does Tyndale say ? 14. What 
are the words of Carmichael? 15. What does Dr. Muller 
testify on this point ? 16. To what is death compared ? 17. 
What is the analogy between death and sleep ? 18. What 
does this show concerning our condition in death 1 19. 
What does Job say in chapter 14 : 21 \ 20. What is the tes- 
timony of Psalm 146 : 4 ? 21. How and where does Solomon 



142 SYNOPSIS OF THE PEESENT TRUTH. 

feet as his father David, Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6: "For 
the living know that they shall die; but the dead 
know not anything; also their love, and their 
hatred, and their envy, is now perished ; neither have 
they any more a portion forever in anything that is 
done under the sun." Verse 10: " There is no work 
nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, 
whither thou goest." Evidence like this can nei- 
ther be mistaken nor evaded. It is vain for im- 
material ists to claim that this applies to the body 
only in distinction from the soul, for they do not 
hold that the body of itself thinks or has knowl- 
edge while the person lives. Therefore, without a 
resurrection, the dead will forever remain without 
knowledge. 

The dead are not in Heaven nor in hell, but in 
the dust of the earth. Job 17: 13-16; 14: 14; Isa. 
26:19. 

The dead have no remembrance of God, and do 
not, while dead, render him praise and thanksgiv- 
ing. Proof: Ps. 6:5; 115:17; Isa. 38:18, 19. 

The dead have not yet ascended to Heaven. Acts 
2:29, 34, 35. 

And finally, Paul, in his masterly argument on the 
resurrection, 1 Cor. 15:18, makes this conclusive 
statement: "If the dead rise not, then is not Christ 
raised; and if Christ be not raised, your faith is 
vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also 
which are fallen asleep in Christ are perislied" If 



speak of this question? 22. How is evidence like this to be 
treated I 23. May not this refer to the body only ? 24. 
Without a resurrection, therefore, what would result? 25. 
Where are the dead ? Reference. 26. Have the dead any 
remembrance of God ? Reference. 27. Have they ascended 
to heaven ? Reference. 28. What does Paul say in 1 Cor. 
15 : 18 ? 29. Can this be reconciled with the idea that the 



STATE OF THE DEAD. 143 

the souls of the dead live right on, are they perished ? 
What ! perished and yet alive in a larger sphere ? 
Perished ? and yet enjoying the attendant blessings 
of everlasting life in Heaven ? Perished ? and yet 
at God's right hand, where there is fulness of joy 
and pleasures foreverrnore ? 

Bishop Law says: — 

" I proceed to consider what account the Script- 
ures give of that state to which death reduces us; 
and this we find represented by sleep; by a nega- 
tion of all life and action; by rest, resting-place, or 
home, silence, oblivion, darkness, destruction, and 
corruption." 

Christ says, John 6: 39, that of all that was given 
him, he would lose nothing, but would raise it up at 
the last day, showing again that it was lost unless it 
should be raised up at the last day. 

It is thus seen that the two doctrines of the im- 
mortality of the soul and the resurrection of the 
dead cannot exist together; but the Bible does sus- 
tain the resurrection of the dead, and as we may 
therefore expect, gives no countenance to the other. 

There is still another doctrine of the Scriptures 
which has as decisive a bearing upon this question 
as the preceding, and that is the doctrine of a future 
Judgment for man. If men when they die go 
directly to Heaven or hell, accordingly as they have 
lived righteous or wicked lives, it follows that they 
are all j udged at death. Then we ask, What neces- 



soul lives right on after the death of the body ? 30. What 
is Bishop Law's testimony? 31. What are the words of 
Christ in John 6 : 39? 32. Can the two doctrines of the 
immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the dead exist 
together ? 33. What other doctrine has a decisive bearing 
upon this question 1 34 If men go directly to Heaven or 



144 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

sity is there for this general future Judgment which 
is made so prominent a doctrine of the Bible ? Is it 
for the purpose of correcting mistakes that may have 
been made in the first Judgment ? Can it be sup- 
posed that some have been in hell who ought to 
have been in Heaven, and some in Heaven who 
ought to have been in hell, and that this Judgment 
is to correct these mistakes ? If not, why have this 
Judgment at all ? And if so, what guarantee have 
we that mistakes will not be made in this fiual Judg- 
ment, and some be sent to hell for all eternity who 
should be in Heaven, and some retained in Heaven 
who are deserving of the punishment of hell ? Such 
must be our conclusion if we hold to the doctrine 
of the immortality of the soul; but such a conclu- 
sion is a libel upon the government of God and an 
insult to the justice of Heaven. 

Luke 24: 39. " For a spirit hath not flesh and 
bones, as ye see me have." 

From this definition of a spirit by Christ, it is 
concluded that a spirit cannot be a real, tangible 
being, and hence must exist in the disembodied 
state, as popularly supposed. But to what did 
Christ have reference by the term spirit ? What 
did the apostles suppose they had seen ? The 87th 
verse says they were affrighted and supposed they 
had seen a spirit. On this verse Griesbach puts for 
the word spirit, phantasma ; but the meaning of 
phantasma is an apparition, a ghost. It is evident 
that Christ used the term spirit in the same sense. 



hell at death, when are they judged ? 35. Then what neces- 
sity is there for a future general Judgment I 36. In what 
light does this place the government and justice of God I 
37. What does Chris-t say respecting the spirit in Luke 
24 : 39 \ 38. What argument is based on this definition \ 
39. To what kind of a spirit did Christ have reference I 40. 






STATE OF THE DEAD. 145 

Nob that there was any spirit of that kind, but he 
wanted to show them that such a spirit as they 
conceived of was not then present before them ; for 
such a spirit had not flesh and bones as they saw 
him have. The word pneuma, to be sure, is here 
used; but this has a great variety of meanings; and 
while it may be employed, perhaps, to express such 
a conception as the disciples had then in mind, we 
are not to understand that the word cannot be used 
to describe bodies like that which Christ then pos- 
sessed. Bloomfield on this verse says: "It may be 
added that our Lord meant not to countenance these 
notions, but to show his hearers that, according to 
their own notions of spirits, he was not one." 

Acts 23 : 8. " For the Sadducees say that there 
is no -resurrection, neither angel nor spirit; but the 
Pharisees confess both." Paul declared himself in 
verse 6 to be a Pharisee, and in telling what they 
believed, in verse 8, it is claimed that Paul ranged 
himself on the side of those who believe in the sep- 
arate, conscious existence of the spirit of man. But 
does this text say that the Pharisees believed in such 
a thing ? Three terms are here used in expressing 
what the Sadducees did not believe; namely, "resur- 
rection, angel, and spirit." But when the faith of 
the Pharisees is stated, these three terms are reduced 
to two : the Pharisees confess both. Both means 

What proves this ? 41. How then did Christ use the term 
spirit ? 42. Did he mean to teach that there was anything of 
that kind ? 43. What word is here used for spirit ? 44. 
Could it ever be used to signify a spirit such as they then 
had in mind ? 45. What is Bloomfield's testimony ( 46. 
What objection is raised on Acts 23 : 8 to our view ? 47. 
How many terms are used to express what the Sadducees 
did not believe ? 48. How many to express the faith of the 
Pharisees? 49. What is meant by this word, both? 50. 

10 



146 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT- TRUTH. 

only two, not three. Now what two of the three 
terms before employed unite to express one branch 
of the faith of the Pharisees ? The word angel 
could not be one, for the angels are a distinct race 
of beings from the human family. Then we have 
left, resurrection and spirit. The Pharisees believe 
in angels, and in the resurrection. Then, all the 
spirit they believed in, according to this testimony, is 
what is connected with the resurrection, and that, 
of course, is the spiritual body with which we are 
endowed. If any who say that the word both some- 
times means more than two, and quote Acts 1:13 
as proof, we reply, that the word both in Acts 1:13 
is not the same word translated both in Acts 23 : 8. 
The word both here means just two, no more nor 
less. 



Is the word here translated both, the same as that used in 
Acts 1:13? 



CHAPTER XV. 



Destiny of the Wicked, 

We have now briefly examined the testimony of 
the Bible in regard to the nature of man and his 
condition in death. The only remaining branch of 
the subject, namely, his destiny beyond the resur- 
rection, next claims attention. From the evidence 
already presented, it is clear that the final doom of 
the wicked cannot be endless suffering, because we 
have seen that man has no immortal element in his 
nature. It only remains, therefore, that we take up 
those passages which are supposed to teach eternal 
suffering, and see if they can be harmonized with 
the scriptures already examined. 

It may be remarked, first, that the immortality 
of the soul leads to some very grave conclusions. 
For instance, the punishment of the sinner is set 
forth as being eternal ; and if the soul cannot cease 
to be conscious, the doctrine of eternal misery inev- 
itably follows. On the other hand, we read of a 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER FIFTEEN. 

1. What is shown by the testimony already examined I 
2. What, then, remains to be done? 3. To what contradict- 
ory conclusions does the doctrine of the immortality of the 
soul lead ? 4. In what terms does Christ describe the final 
destiny of the righteous and the wicked 1 5. How long is 

[1471 



148 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

time when every intelligence in the universe will be 
ascribing honor, blessing, and praise to God. And 
if the soul is immortal, we are just as clearly taught 
by this declaration the universal restoration of all 
the race. Christ says, speaking of the wicked, 
" These shall go away into everlasting punishment;" 
but he immediately adds concerning the righteous, 
" But the righteous into life eternal. " Here the same 
word is used in reference to the punishment of the 
wicked that is used to measure the life of the right- 
eous. The punishment of the wicked, therefore, is 
eternal ; and this overthrows Universalism and the 
restoration view of Origen. How, then, can this 
scripture be harmonized with the declaration just 
quoted, that all living intelligences shall finally bless 
and praise the God of heaven ? The harmony is 
found in the nature of the punishment. This the 
Scriptures show to be death ; and this view over- 
throws alike the restoration view of Origen and the 
eternal hell of Augustine. 

We will now examine those passages of Scripture 
which are put forth as evidence that the punishment 
threatened to the wicked is eternal misery. 

1. Dan. 12: 2: "But many of them that sleep in 
the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlast- 
ing life, and some to shame and everlasting con- 
tempt." The objector couples the shame with the 
contempt, and makes both to be everlasting; but the 
scripture does not so express it. It is the contempt, 
and that only, that is said to be everlasting. The 



the punishment of the wicked to be ? 6. What doctrines 
does this overthrow 1 7. How can this be harmonized with 
Rev. 5 : 13 1 8. What is the punishment of the wicked ? 9. 
What doctrines does this overthrow 1 10. What objection 
is based on Dan. 12 ; 2 ? 11, What is here said to be ever- 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 149 

contempt is an emotion exercised not by the wicked, 
but by the righteous. The Syriac reads : " Some to 
shame, and the eternal contempt of their compan- 
ions." The shame they will feel for themselves, 
which shows that they are raised to consciousness ; 
but the contempt is exercised by the righteous so 
long as they hold them in remembrance at all. This 
text, therefore, furnishes no proof of the eternal suf- 
fering of the wicked. 

2. Matt. 25 : 41 : " Depart from me, ye cursed, 
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his 
angels." Wicked men are not said in this text to 
be everlasting ; and this destroys all the force of 
the passage for the popular view. Not even the 
devil is said to be everlasting, but only the fire. 
And in what respect is this everlasting ? Not in its 
process of burning, but in its effects. Just as we 
read in Heb. 5 : 9, of eternal salvation ; in Heb. 6 : 2, 
of eternal judgment ; in Heb. 9:12, of eternal re- 
demption, — not a salvation, judgment, and redemp- 
tion that are forever going- forward, and never ac- 
complished, but such as are eternal in their effects. 

3. Matt. 25:46: "And these shall go away into 
everlasting punishment ; but the righteous into life 
eternal." As we have said, the punishment and the 
life mentioned in this text are of equal duration. 
But what is this punishment ? The Greek word 
here used for punishment is Ivlasis, which is defined 

lasting ? 12. By whom is the contempt spoken of exercised ? 
13. How does the Syriac read I 14 In Matt. 25 : 41, what 
is said to be everlasting ? 15. Why is the fire here called 
everlasting ? 16. What parallel passages explain this ? 17. 
What is the punishment spoken of in Matt. 25 : 46 ? 18. 
What is the Greek word here used for punishment ? 19. 



150 SYXOPSTS OF THE PRESENT TPJTTH. 

a curtailing, or pruning. " Cutting off" is the 
prominent idea. The righteous go into everlasting 
life, but the wicked into an everlasting "cutting off" 
from something. What is that from which they are 
cut oft 1 ? Happiness? No; but life, or existence, 
such as is oiven to the riohteous. 

But how, it will be asked, can death be an ever- 
lasting punishment ? It is well understood that 
death is considered the severest punishment that can 
be inflicted in this. world ; and why? Because it 
deprives the individual of all the blessings of life 
which he might have enjoyed had he lived. So in 
the case of the wicked at the final Judgment, they 
arc cut off from the eternal blessings of life in the 
kingdom of God, which the righteous enjoy; and 
hence it is to them an everlasting punishment. 

4. Mark 9 : 43, 44 : "And if thy hand offend thee, 
cut it off; it is better for thee to enter into life 
maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into 
the fire that never shall be quenched ; where their 
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Twice, 
in verses 46 and 48, our Lord repeats this solemn 
sentence against the wicked. The Avord here used 
for hell is ge-enna, a word used to designate the 
valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem. The use of this 
word throws much light upon the passage before us; 
for in this valley fires were kept constantly burning 

What is its primary signification ? 20. How does this ap- 
ply to the wicked ? 21. From what are the wicked cut off ? 
22. Is death a punishment ? 23. How can it be called ev- 
erlasting punishment in the cases of the wicked ? 24. What 
is the language used in Mark 9 : 43, 44 '? 25. What is the 
word here translated hell ? 2G. What was it used to desig- 
nate ? 27- What was the peculiarity of this valley of Hin- 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 151 

to consume the bodies of malefactors and the filth of 
the city, which were cast into it ; and Avhat the fire 
failed to consume, the worms preyed upon and de- 
stroyed. The figure, then, to which Christ called 
the minds of his hearers, was that of complete and 
utter destruction. 

With such language and such fio-ures the Jews 
were familiar. Isaiah and Jeremiah frequently used 
them. The Lord, in Jer. 17 : 27, said that he wo aid 
kindle a fire in the gates of Jerusalem which should 
not be quenched. 2 Chron. 36:19, 21 records the 
fulfillment of this prophecy. It was simply a fire 
which burned until it had entirely consumed the 
gates of Jerusalem. Ps. 37 : 20 says that the wicked 
shall consume into smoke. In Mai. 4: 3, we are told 
that they shall be ashes under the feet of the right- 
eous. Ezekiel, in Chap. 20 : 47, 48, speaks of un- 
quenchable fire in a similar manner. Our Lord, in 
the passage under consideration, undoubtedly bor- 
rows the language he uses from Isa. 66: 24 ; but in 
Isaiah those that are subject to the unquenchable fire 
and the undying worm are not living persons, but 
dead bodies. So the Jews would understand Christ 
by these terms to threaten complete and utter de- 

nom ? 28. What, then, would be suggested to the minds of 
Christ's hearers by these terms 1 29. Were the Jews famil- 
iar with such imagery 1 30. What is said in Jer. 17 : 27 ? 
31. Was this unquenchable fire ? 32. Where is the fulfill- 
ment of this threatening recorded ? 33. What did this un- 
quenchable fire do 1 34. What i3 the meaning, then, of un- 
quenchable, in this instance ? 35. What does David say in 
Ps. 37: 20 ] 36. What does Malachi say in Chap. 4: 3 \ 37. 
Where does Ezekiel use the term " unquenchable " in a sim- 
ilar manner ? 38. Where is the language found from which 
Mark 9: 43, 44, was borrowed \ 39. What does Isaiah rep- 



152 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

struction against the wicked. Eusebius even uses 
the same term, unquenchable fire, in reference to 
the martyrdom of Christians. 

5. Jude 7 : "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and 
the cities about them, in like manner, giving them- 
selves over to fornication, and going after strange 
flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the ven- 
geance of eternal fire." What is said to be eternal 
in this text ? Not the people, not the suffering, but 
only the fire. And why is this called eternal ? 
Simply because it is eternal in its effects. Sodom 
and Gomorrah will never recover themselves from 
that destruction. 2 Peter 2: 6 says, "And turning 
the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, con- 
demned them with an overthrow, making them an 
ensample unto those that after should live ungodly." 
This text therefore proves that the wicked will be 
punished, not with eternal conscious suffering, but 
with an utter consumption, even as Sodom was con- 
sumed. 

6. But two more texts remain which are urged in 
favor of the doctrine of the eternal torment of the 
wicked? and both of these are found in the book of 
Revelation. The first is in Rev. 14: 11, being a part 
of the third angel's message, which is now under 
consideration : " And the smoke of their torment as- 
cendeth up forever and ever ; and they have no rest 
day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, 
and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." 



resent the unquenchable fire as preying upon? 40. How 
does Eusebius use the term ? 41. What is the next passage 
quoted to prove eternal misery ? 42. What is said to be 
eternal here ? 43. Why is it called eternal ? 44. How does 
2 Pet. 2 : 6 explain this ? 45. What is the next passage ? 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 153 

We first inquire of whom this is spoken. It is 
only of a particular class, — those " who worship the 
beast and his image." This text, therefore, is not 
decisive relative to the punishment of the wicked in 
general. But we inquire further, Does it mean eter- 
nal torment for those of whom it is spoken ? As 
was said of the language quoted from Mark 9, so it 
may be said of this. It is not original with the New 
Testament, but is borrowed from the Old. In Isa. 
34: 9, 10, the prophet, speaking of Idumea, says : 
"And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, 
and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land 
thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be 
quenched night nor day ; the smoke thereof shall go 
up forever : from generation to generation it shall 
lie waste ; none shall pass through it forever and 
ever." 

There are but two ways in which this language 
can be understood, and in one of these ways it must 
be understood. It refers either to the literal land of 
Edom, east and south of Judea, or it is a figure to 
represent the whole world in the day of final confla- 
gration. But in either case the meaning of the lan- 
es & 

guage is evident. If the literal land of Idumea is 
meant, and the language has reference to the deso- 
lations which have fallen upon it, then certainly no 
eternity of duration is implied in the declaration that 
"the smoke thereof shall go up forever;" for the 
judgments that fell upon that land have long since 

46. Of whom is this spoken ? 47. Is this language original 
with the New Testament ? 48. From what is it borrowed? 
49. What does Isa. 34: 9, 10, say of Idumea ? 50. What are 
the only two ways in which this can be understood ? 51. If 
it refers to the literal land of Idumea, what conclusion are 



154 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

ceased. But if it refers to the fires of the last day, 
when the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and 
the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall 
be burned up, even then the terms must be under- 
stood as denoting only limited duration ; for from 
the ashes of the old earth, after a suitable lapse of 
time, through the working of Him who maketh all 
things new, there shall come forth a new heavens 
and a new earth, according to the declaration of 
Peter, which shall be the eternal abode of the right- 
eous. 

As we thus see that the terms used in the Bible 
denote limited duration, we inquire if the lexicons 
define them in the same manner. The terms used 
are aion and aionios. Aion is denned by Green- 
field, Schrevelius, Liddell and Scott, Parkhurst, 
Robinson, Schleusner, Wahl, and Cruden, as mean- 
ing finite duration as well as infinite. The term 
seems to .imply, primarily, simply duration, or the 
flow of time ; but the extent of time must be defined 
by other terms. When it is applied to objects which 
we are told will endure absolutely without end, as 
God, Christ, angels, the saints' inheritance, and im- 
mortal beings, it means unlimited duration ; but 
when it is applied to objects which we know will 
come to an end, it then covers only the length of 
time during which those things exist. Dr. Clarke, 



we led to? 52. If it is a figure representing the general 
conflagration of the last day, what is the conclusion still ? 
53. What does the term "forever and ever," as used in the 
Bible, represent ? 54. What are the Greek terms employed 
for these words 1 55. What is the meaning of these terms 1 
56. What lexicographers give this among the significations 
of these terms ? 57. What is Dr. Clarke's rule, and where 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 155 

in his closing remarks on 2 Kings 5, gives us this 
rule for the interpretation of the words "forever and 
ever." He says they "take in the whole extent, or 
duration, of the things to which they are applied." 
If, therefore, we find other declarations stating posi- 
tively that the wicked will come to an end, — and we 
do find multitudes of such, — then this term, "for- 
ever," or "forever and ever," applied to them, must 
signify only the length of time during which they 
exist. 

The second word, aionios, is subject in all respects 
to the same definition and rule which is noticed above 
in reference to aion. 

The second passage, Rev. 20: 10, being exactly 
parallel to the one found in Rev. 14, is explained in 
the same manner. Rev. 14:11 doubtless applies at 
the beginning of the thousand years, when the beast 
and the false 'prophet are cast into the lake of fire 
burning with brimstone, as stated in Rev. 19 : 20 ; 
while the passage in Rev. 20: 10 refers to a similar 
scene of destruction visited upon Satan and all his 
host at the end of the thousand years. 

7. Having now examined all the texts supposed 
to teach eternal misery, and having found that all 
are easily harmonized with the view of the destruc- 
tion of the wicked, and that some even furnish the 
strongest testimony for that doctrine, we now look 
at a few of the passages of the Bible which speak 
positively of the doom of the lost. 

Eze. 18:26: "When a righteous man turneth 



found? 58. What may be said of aionios? 59. How is 
Rev. 20: 10 explained ? 60. When does Rev. 14: 11 doubt- 
less apply \ 61. When, Rev. 20: 10? 62. What is taught 
in Eze. 18:26? 63. What texts sustain this view? 64. 



156 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

away from his righteousness, and committeth in- 
iquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he 
hath done shall he die." Here two deaths are 
brought to view, — the first, a death in sin, and the 
other a consequence following that, — a death for sin. 
We have seen that the first death leaves a man un- 
conscious in the grave; and the second must leave 
him in the same condition, with no promise of a res- 
urrection. 

Paul says in Rom. 6:28, "The wages of sin is 
death ; " and James (1 : 15) corroborates this testimony 
in saying, " Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth 
death." Death cannot, by any proper definition, be 
made to mean continuance in life. " The death that 
never dies" is a contradiction of terms. 

Here are some of the declarations of the Bible re- 
specting the wicked: They shall be destroyed (Ps. 
145: 20) ; they shall perish (John 3: 16) ; they shall 
go to perdition (Heb. 10: 39) ; they shall' come to an 
end, and be as though they had not been (Ps. 37 : 
10; Obad. 16). They are compared to the most in- 
flammable and perishable substances ; as a potter's 
vessel (Ps. 2:9); beasts that perish (Ps. 49: 20) ; a 
whirlwind that passeth away (Ps. 58: 9) ; a water- 
less garden (Isa. 1 : 30) ; garments consumed by the 
moth (Isa. 51:8); thistle down scattered by the 
whirlwind (Isa. 17: 13) ; the fat of lambs consumed 
in the fire (Ps. 37: 20) ; ashes (Mai. 4:3); wax (Ps. 
68:2); tow (Isa. 1:31); thorns (Isa. 33:12); ex- 
hausted waters (Ps. 58: 7). 

What does Ps. 145: 20 say of the wicked? 65. John 3: 16, 
what? 66. Heb. 10:39, what? 67. Ps. 37:10 and Obad. 
16, what ? 68. To what kind of substances are the wicked 
compared 1 69. Name the texts, and tell how they speak of 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 157 

In the New Testament they are likened to chaff 
which is to be burned entirely up (Matt. 3: 12) ; 
tares to be consumed (Matt. 13: 40) ; withered 
branches to be burned (John 15 : 6) ; bad fish cast 
away to corruption (Matt. 13:47, 48); a house 
thrown down (Luke 6 : 49) ; the old world destroyed 
by water (Luke 17: 29) ; the Sodomites destroyed 
by fire (2 Pet. 2:5, 6) ; natural brute beasts, that 
perish in their own corruption (2 Pet. 2: 12). 

Finally, the teaching of the Bible on this subject 
may be summed up in this proposition : The wicked 
shall be consumed, and devoured by fire. Jsa. 5: 
20-24 ; Ps. 37: 20 ; Rev. 20: 9. The word in this 
last reference rendered devoured, says Prof. Stuart, 
"is intensive, so that it denotes utter excision." 

In the light of these testimonies from the Script- 
ures, we can readily understand how it is that the 
wicked are to be recompensed in the earth. Prov. 
11:31. Coming up in the second resurrection at 
the end of the thousand years, they surround the 
beloved city, New Jerusalem, then descended from 
heaven, and their fearful retribution overtakes 
them. This is the day of Judgment and perdition 
of ungodly men, described by Peter (2 Pet. 3: 10, 
12) ; and this is the fire that melts the earth and the 
elements with fervent heat. 

We can also understand how the righteous are 
recompensed in the earth, according to the same 
passage in Proverbs ; for they, after the destruction 



them ? 70. What are the New-Testament representations ? 
71. What general proposition covers the teaching of the Bi- 
ble on this question ? 72. What is Prof Stuart's definition 
of " devour " in Rev. 20: 9? 73. What bearing have these 



158 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

of the wicked, go forth and take possession of the 
earth made new, as their eternal inheritance. 

We can also understand how and when Rev. 5 : 
13 is to be fulfilled ; for now we have a universe 
clean and pure. Satan and all his followers are de- 
stroyed, the last taints of the curse, and the least 
stains of sin, are all wiped away, and all creatures 
raise their voices in the glad anthem of universal 
jubilee, ascribing "blessing, and honor, and glory, 
and power, unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and 
unto the Lamb forever and ever." 

There is something most dishonorable to God in 
the idea that sin, introduced contrary to his will, 
must continue to all eternity. Its origin and its 
temporary continuance we can explain on Scriptural 
and rational principles ; but its eternity, never. 

With this view of eternal misery, there is the most 
fearful discrepancy between the sins of this finite 
life and the eternal suffering visited upon them ; 
hence divines are driven to say that the sins will 
continue in hell. Benson says that they (sinners) 
" must be perpetually swelling their enormous sums 
of guilt, and still running deeper, immensely deeper, 
in debt to divine and infinite justice." This repre- 
sents the sinner as being able to accumulate his load 
of guilt faster than God can devise terrors and judg- 
ments adequate to their punishment. But the Bible 
says that we are to give an account for the deeds 



testimonies on Prov. 11: 31 ? 74. How does the doctrine of 
the eternity of sin affect our views of the character of God ? 
75. How can sin and the punishment be balanced on the 
ground of eternal misery 1 76. What does Benson say ? 77. 
How does this represent the sinner? 78. What does the 
Bible say we are to be punished for? 79. Does God pro- 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 159 

done in the body, or in this life only, and be rewarded 
according to our works here. God has made no pro- 
vision for the eternity of sin, but has devised the 
most effectual means to prevent it. 

The philosophical objections, resting on the ground 
of immateriality and that matter cannot think, the 
capacities of the soul and the analogies of nature, 
are disproved by an examination of the powers and 
capacities of the brute creation. It is said that im- 
mortality is assumed in the Bible, or, as Bishop Til- 
lotson says, " taken for granted." But it cannot be 
taken for granted any more than the immortality 
of Jehovah, and that is expressly revealed. 

It is said, again, that annihilation is impossible, 
We answer, True, in reference to matter as matter 
(that is, we have no evidence that God will annihi- 
late matter, though he could do so if he chose), but 
not in reference to intelligent and conscious beings. 
And we claim that the wicked are to cease to be, 
only in this respect. 

It is said that this doctrine has an evil tendency. 
If so, let the objector show us the infidels and crimi- 
nals, and profane, wicked, and corrupt persons in 
the ranks of the friends of this doctrine. The truth 
is just the opposite of this. Multitudes in the light 
of this teaching are able to exclaim for the first time 
that they can harmonize the ways of God with rea- 
son and revelation ; and therefore can believe the 
Bible to be his word. 

vide for the eternity of sin ? 80. How are some of the ob- 
jections of philosophy disproved ? 81. What may be said 
about annihilation? 82. What about the charge that this 
doctrine has an evil tendency ? 



CHAPTER XVI, 



The Seven Last Plagues. 

The subject of the seven last plagues is another 
theme that demands examination in connection with 
the third angel's message ; for these plagues are 
brought to view in the message itself, are intimately 
connected with it according to other prophecies, and 
immediately follow its close. The threatening which 
this message utters is expressed in these words : 
" The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of 
God, which is poured out without mixture into the 
cup of his indignation." The first verse of chapter 
15 speaks of judgments in which " is filled up the 
wrath of God." This must certainly mean the same 
as the unmixed wrath threatened in the message, 
but here it is plainly said to be the seven last plagues. 

This is still further proved by the chronology of 
these plagues. They are still future ; for they can- 
not be poured out till the work in the sanctuary is 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER SIXTEEN. 

1. What other subject is connected with the third angel's 
message % 2. Where are the seven last plagues brought to 
view? 3. In what language is the threatening expressed? 
4. What expression is used in Rev. 15:1? 5. What must 
this be equivalent to 1 6. What is the judgment of Rev. 15: 
1 called 1 7. Can these plagues be poured out till the work 
[160] 



THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES. 161 

finished. John says in Rev. 15 : 5-8, that the tem- 
ple of the tabernacle in heaven was opened. This 
brings to view the work of Christ in the most holy 
place. From that temple then came forth seven an- 
gels with the seven last plagues ; and while they 
were pouring them out, the temple was filled with 
the glory of the Lord, so that no one was able to 
enter therein till the seven plagues of the seven an- 
gels were fulfilled. This brings us to the time when 
the priesthood of Christ has closed ; for till that time 
there will be some one ministering in that temple. 
Being thus future, they must be that unmixed wrath 
threatened in the third message, which is the last 
judgment to be inflicted on men before the Lord ap- 
pears, 

The chronology of these plagues is shown still more 
fully by the language used in reference to the first 
plague itself. Rev. 16: 2. The first messenger of 
wrath pours out his vial upon the earth, and there 
falls a noisome and grievous sore upon those who 
have the mark of the beast, and upon those who 
worship his image. But this reception of the mark 
and worship of the image is the very thing against 
which the third angel's message warns us. These 
plagues, therefore, do not fall till the third angel's 
message is concluded. 

Now if we say that these plagues have been poured 
out in the past, — ages in the past, as some contend, — 
or that they even commenced to be poured out then, 
it follows that the third angel's message accomplished 

in the sanctuary is closed ? 8. How is this proved ? 9. 
Upon whom does the first plague fall } 10. By what are we 
warned against receiving the mark, etc. ? 11. What is the 
chronology of these plagues, therefore, as compared with the 

11 



162 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

its work ages in the past. But the third message 
warns us against two antecedent powers brought to 
view in Rev. 13, — the leopard beast and the two- 
horned beast. These could not have existed and 
acted later than the message which warned against 
them. 

But if in order to have the first plague poured out 
ages in the past we place the third message there, 
we throw the second and first still further back. 
But the first message, which is identical with the 
angel of Rev. 10, is based upon the fulfillment of the 
prophetic periods. Hence we thus throw all pro- 
phetic interpretation ages away from our own time, 
where it is having its fulfillment. But we have 
shown that the two-horned beast is now on the stage 
of action, preparing to perform his last work, and 
that the third angel's message is now in the land, 
and beginning to go forth with power. The plagues 
which follow it are therefore future, the last mani- 
festation of God's wrath upon the last generation of 
men, after the third angel has ceased his warning, 
the work in the sanctuary is ended, and a mediator 
no longer stands between God and men to stay from 
them the vials of his indignation. 

These plagues will be literal. A parallel is found 

message ? 12. If we throw the beginning of these plagues 
ages in the past, as some demand, where must we put the 
message 1 13. What, then, becomes of the leopard beast 
and the two-horned beast of Rev. 13 ? 14. And how are the 
first and second messages affected by this view ? 15. With 
what is the first message of Rev. 14 identical ? 16. Upon 
what is it based 1 17. Then how is all prophetic interpreta- 
tion affected by such an application ? 18. What has already 
been proved 1 19. What do all these arguments show in 
reference to the plagues I 20. Will the plagues be literal ? 



THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES. 163 

in the plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians, as re- 
corded in Exodus, chapters 7-10, which no one thinks 
of regarding other than literal. The terrible nature 
of these judgments is made sufficiently clear by the 
record given us in Rev. 16. 

As the result of the first plague, a terrible and 
grievous sore breaks out upon the men which have 
the mark of the beast. 

As the result of the second plague, the sea becomes 
as the blood of a dead man, a most infectious and 
deadly substance. If the sea here means the oceans 
of our globe, as it probably does, we leave the reader 
to imagine, as far as he can, the terrible effects of 
this plague. It is no wonder John says that every 
living soul died in the sea. 

At the pouring out of the third vial, the rivers 
and fountains of waters become blood. This touches 
the human family in a still more vital point. Prob- 
ably these two plagues will be of short duration ; 
for otherwise it would seem that all flesh must perish 
from the face of the earth. John heard the angel 
say, as this plague was poured out, Thou art right- 
eous, O Lord ; for they have shed the blood of saints 
and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to 
drink. The query may arise how the last genera- 
tion of the wicked, who are not permitted to slay 
the sahits. can be said to have shed the blood of 
saints and prophets. The answer is, They designed 
to do it, determined to do it, tried to do it (Rev. 13: 
15-17), and are therefore just as guilty as though 

21. What parallel plagues are brought to view in the Bible ? 

22. Where is the record of these plagues ? 23. What is the 
result of the first vial I 24. Of the second ? 25. Of the 
third ? 26. How can it be said of men at this time that they 



164 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

they had clone it. It is no virtue in them that God 
restrains them from their evil intentions ; and they 
meet the j ust fate of the actual transgressor. 

The fourth angel pours out his vial upon the sun, 
and it scorches the earth with unwonted heat, thus 
most fearfully intensifying the effects of the preced- 
ing plagues. In the result of this plague we doubt- 
less find a fulfillment of Joel 1 : 14-20. 

The fifth angel pours out his vial upon the seat of 
the beast, and darkness like that which overspread 
Egypt pervades his kingdom. This judgment is 
inflicted especially upon the papacy, the seat of the 
beast being Rome, and his kingdom being his sub- 
jects wherever they are found. In the description 
of this plague we find an expression which shows 
that all these plagues fall upon the same generation ; 
for it is said that they blasphemed God because of 
their pains and their sores. These sores must be the 
ones brought to view under the first plague. Those 
upon whom the first vial was poured, many of them, 
at least, are thus shown to be still living under the 
fifth plague, and still suffering from the effects of 
the first plague. 

The sixth angel pours out his vial upon the great 
river Euphrates. This is a symbol of the Ottoman 
empire, and the drying up of its waters denotes the 
utter consumption and overthrow of that power. 



have shed the blood of saints and prophets ? 27. What is 
the effect of the fourth vial ? 28. What prophecy is fulfilled 
in this ? 29. Upon what locality is the fifth plague poured ? 
30. What is the seat of the beast I 31. What is his king- 
dom 1 32. What proof is found here that these plagues fall 
upon the same generation of men I 33. Upon what is the 
sixth vial poured? 34. What is here symbolized by the 
river Euphrates ? 35. What is meant by the drying up of 



THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES. 165 

And the way for that consummation is now prepar- 
ing in the most apparent and rapid manner. Under 
this plague, three unclean spirits go forth from the 
dragon, the beast, and the false prophet ; that is, Pa- 
ganism, the Papacy, and apostate Protestantism. In 
this we behold the work of spiritualism, which has 
already made such headway in the world. Some 
have even concluded that we are already under this 
sixth plague, because of the decline of the Turkish 
power, and of the work of spiritualism. But before 
the Euphrates can be entirely consumed, there must 
be a process of the drying up of its waters ; and be- 
fore the spirits can go out of the mouth of the dragon, 
the beast, and the false prophet, they must win their 
way into the hearts of these powers. We now see 
the preparatory work going forward ; the strength, 
resources, and influence of spirits of devils are mak- 
ing their way into the high places of the earth. Un- 
der this plague we behold the completion of this 
work ; and it cannot, from present indications, be 
far distant. 

The work of the spirits when they thus go forth 
with authority, is to gather the kings of the earth 
and of the whole world to the battle of the great day 
of God Almighty, which is then impending. They 
are gathered into a place called Armageddon. The 
spirits gather them there. Our English version 
reads, " He gathered them ;" but in the Greek aneu- 



its waters ? 36. What further development takes place un- 
der this plague ? 37. What is meant by the dragon, beast, 
and false prophet ? 38. What is denoted by these spirits ? 
39. What conclusion have some come to from the condition 
of Turkey and the work of spiritualism ? 40. How is this 
explained ? 41. What is the object of the work of these 



166 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

ter plural subject can regularly take a verb in the 
singular number ; and the subject of the singular 
verb "gathered" in verse 16, is the neuter plural 
spirits (pneumata) of verse 14. 

The seventh angel pours out his vial into the air. 
The effect of this is all-pervacling. A great earth- 
quake, such as never before was known, rends the 
earth from center to circumference. The cities of 
the nations fall. Great Babylon receives her cup of 
wrath. The islands and mountains flee away ; and 
great hailstones, each about the weight of a talent 
(57 lbs.), fall upon men. Here are seen the treasures 
of hail which God has reserved against this day of 
trouble, and battle, and war. Job 38: 22, 23. This 
plague brings us into scenes which are intimately 
connected with the coming of Christ. See Rev. 6 : 
14-17. Christ soon appears ; and those who have 
survived through all these judgments, are slain by 
the spirit of his mouth and the brightness of his com- 
ing. Rev. 19:21; 2 Thess. 2:8. 

For some of the gracious promises which are given 
to the people of God during this time of fearful 
trouble, a time of trouble, on the nations, such as 
never was (Dan. 12: 1), read the 91st psalm. 



spirits ? 42. Who gather the nations ? 43. What criticism 
is made on the singular verb of verse 16 '? 44. Where is the 
seventh and last vial poured out? 45. What then takes 
place ? 46. What is the weight of the hailstones that then 
fall 1 47. What Old-Testament declaration is then fulfilled I 
48. Into what scenes does this plague bring us \ 49. How 
are those who survive the plagues finally slain ? Give refer- 
ences. 50. To Avhat does the time of trouble such as never 
was, mentioned in Dan. 12: 1, apply ? (This trouble coming 
on the nations is not to be confounded with the tribulation 
such as never was, spoken of in Matt. 24: 21, which comes 
upon the church.) 51. What promises have the saints dur- 
ing this time of trouble ? 



CHAPTER XVII. 



The Millennium. 

The word milieu n i am, from the Latin mille, thou- 
sand, and annus, a year, means a thousand years. 
It is used altogether with reference to the thousand 
years spoken of in Rev. 20 : 4, 5, 7, during which 
all overcomers in the Christian warfare will live and 
reign with Christ, the captain of their salvation. 
Tradition has it that this thousand years is the sev- 
enth in order from the creation of the world, follow- 
ing six thousand years of the reign of sin and the 
triumph of evil. It is the coming golden age of the 
people of God, set before them as an object of hope, 
to stimulate them in their efforts to overcome and 
secure the great salvation ; but the enemy of all 
truth seizes upon it as the basis of one of his most 
effectual last-day delusions by which he will lull 
many into a feeling of carnal security, and thus com- 
pass their ruin at last. 

When we proclaim that the coming of Christ is 
at hand, and warn men that thev must now make 



QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. 

1. What is the derivation of the word " millennium" ? 
2. What is its meaning ? 3. With reference to what is it 
used ? 4. What tradition exists on the subject ? 5. How 
has the doctrine been perverted ? 6. How does it obstruct 

1167] 



168 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

haste to prepare for the close of probation and the 
end of all things, or it will be everlastingly too late, 
those who are under the influence of the doctrine of 
the temporal millennium respond: "Oh, no ! the 
world is to be all converted, and we are to have a 
thousand years of peace and righteousness before 
Christ can come." 

This is the doctrine of the " temporal millennium," 
so largely indulged in by professors at the present 
day It is a doctrine of comparatively recent origin, 
being introduced by Daniel Whitby, D. D., in the lat- 
ter part of the seventeenth century. The apostle has 
told us (1 Thess. 5 : 3) that when the last overwhelm- 
ing destruction is just about to burst upon the world, 
the mass of the people will be so happily dreaming of 
quiet and prosperity, that they will be in the very act 
of crying peace and safety. We arraign this doc- 
trine as the chief element of the peace-and-safety 
cry, the warp and woof of the great error which 
will more than anything else close the eyes and ears 
of men and women against the solemn and all-im- 
portant doctrine of the impending advent of the Son 
of God. 

The few texts urged in defense of this doctrine 
are entitled to candid notice. 

1. Ps. 2:8: " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the 
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost 
parts of the earth for thy possession." This is cor- 
rectly understood as a promise made by the Father 
to the Son. But that it does not mean the conver- 



ge doctrine of the coming of Christ 1 7. When did this 
doctrine originate ? 8. What scripture is it fulfilling ? 9. 
How is Ps. 2:8, sometimes misapplied? 10. What shows 
that it does not mean the conversion of the world? 11. 



toE MILLENNIUM. 169 

sion of the world is sufficiently shown by the very 
next verse: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of 
iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potters 
vessel. " 

2. Dan. 2 : 34, 35. It is claimed that the stone 
cut out of the mountain without hands, here men- 
tioned, which represents the kingdom of Christ, will 
roll and absorb the material of the image, till it fills 
the whole earth. But the prophecy does not so rep- 
resent the matter. The stone smites the image upon 
its feet, clashes to powder its different parts (earthly 
governments), so that like chaff they are blown away, 
and find no place in God's new economy. The 
stone has nothing in common with these. The king- 
dom represented by the stone does not grow by 
gradual accretion, but is set up in full strength and 
glory, when Christ's foes are made his footstool, and 
he takes to himself his great power, and reigns. 

3. Isa. 66 : 8. This text is usually quoted, " A 
nation shall be born in a day," and made to mean 
that the progress of the gospel shall be so rapid that 
a whole nation shall receive it in a day. Correctly 
quoted, the text reads, " Shall the earth be made to 
bring forth in one day ? or shall a nation be born at 
once ? " This evidently refers, not to the conversion 
of men, but to the resurrection of the just from the 
dust of the earth. 

4. Rev. 11 : 15 : "The kingdoms of this world 
are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his 
Christ." But this, observe, is under the third and 
last woe, and is connected with God's wrath, and his 

What is claimed from Dan. 2:34, 35 ? 12, What is its true 
meaning? 13. How is Isa. 66:8 misquoted? 14. To what 
does it refer? 15. When does Rev. 11:15 apply? 16 



170 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

judgments ; and his enemies (those who destroy or 
corrupt the earth) are to be themselves destroyed, 
not converted. 

5. Matt. 24 : 14 : "And this gospel . . . shall be 
preached in all the world for a witness unto all na- 
tions ; and then shall the end come." But it is not 
said that every individual will hear it, much less 
obey it. But even if it did, it would still be far 
from sustaining the position of our friends ; for then, 
according to the text, the end would come ; but 
they say, No, not till a thousand years thereafter. 
The gospel shall be a "witness" to all nations, and 
" take out of them a people for his name " (Acts 15 : 
14), nothing more. 

6. Isa. 2 : 3, 4 ; Micah 4:1: " And they shall 
beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears 
into pruninghooks ; nation shall not lift up sword 
against nation, neither shall they learn war any 
more. " These words occur in both Isaiah and Micah. 
But if the reader will examine the context of both 
passages, he will find that the words quoted are 
what the people say shall occur in the last days, not 
what the Lord says. And this is just what the peo- 
ple are now saying. In fact, these passages are a 
prophecy that this doctrine of a temporal millennium 
would be preached in the last days ; and we are hav- 
ing the fulfillment. But how far this teaching is 
from the truth may be learned by comparing it with 
what the Lord calls upon the people to do in the 
last days, as recorded in Joel 3 : 9-14 : " Prepare 



What is the teaching of Matt. 24:14? 17. Do Isa. 2:3, 4 
and Micah 4: 1 record what the Lord says, or what " the peo- 
ple " say ? 18. What shows how wide the people are from 
the truth? 19, When will Jer. 81:34 he realized? and 



THE MILLENNIUM. 171 

war. . . . -Beat your plowshares into swords, and 
your pruninghooks into spears," etc. And the ful- 
fillment of this we are also having. 

7. Jcr. 31 : 34 : " They shall all know me, from 
the least of them unto the greatest of them." This 
is a part of the predicted blessing of the new cove- 
nant, under which we reach immortality and the 
eternal state. And in that state this condition of 
things will be realized, but never here. 

8. Num. 14 : 21 : "But as truly as I live, all the 
earth shall be rilled with the glory of the Lord." 
In connection with this text see also Hab. 2 : 14 ; 
Isa. 11 : 9 ; and Matt. 5 : 5, compared with Ps. 37: 
9-11. If the earth in its present condition was to 
continue forever, it would be necessary, perhaps, to 
make some such application of these passages as our 
friends make, and look somewhere in its history for 
the conversion of the world. But when we learn 
that there is to be a new dispensation, in which all 
shall be restored, a new earth out of which evil-doers 
shall be cut off, and in which the righteous shall 
dwell, we must apply these texts to this new order 
of things. 

9. Isa. G5 : 17-25 : " For, behold, I create new 
heavens and a new earth," etc. It is only by the 
most distorti ve efforts to make language fionira- 
tive, that this portion of Scripture can be impressed 
into the service of temporal millennianism. But 
all such efforts are vain in view of the plain explana- 
tion of the passage given by the apostle Peter. He 

why ? 20. "When can the texts of jmragraph 8 be fulfilled, 
if not in this present state? 21. How is Isa. 65:17-25 
made to favor the view of a temporal millennium ? 22. How 
does Peter explain this passage ? 23. To what does the 



172 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRTTTH. 

speaks of the destruction of the antediluvian world 
by the flood, which was, of course, this literal earth. 
2 Peter 3:5, 0. He then speaks of "the heavens 
and the earth which are now," this literal earth 
which we inhabit, and these heavens which we see, 
and says that these are to be destroyed by fire; but 
he further declares that this is to be followed by a 
new heavens and a new earth, just as literal, cer- 
tainly, as the ones already mentioned; and he says 
that this is according to God's "promise." But 
when Peter wrote, no promise of this, couched in 
such phraseology, had been given, except in Isa. 65 . 
17-25. This prophecy therefore refers to the literal 
future new earth, not to any work of grace to be 
accomplished in this old one. 

Having examined the principal texts quoted to 
prove the conversion of the world, and the temporal 
triumph of Christianity for a thousand years in the 
present dispensation, and having shown that these 
texts cannot be so interpreted as to mean what is 
claimed for them, we now ask attention to a few of 
the positive declarations of Scripture which prove 
that no such state of things as that indicated above* 
can exist in this world prior to the second advent. 

1. The little horn exists as a power hostile to the 
true church till the coming of Christ. Says Daniel 
(7: 21, 22), "I beheld, and the same horn made war 
with the saints, and prevailed against them; until 
the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given 
to the saints of the Most High ; and the time came 
that the saints possessed the kingdom." This little 



prophecy of Isa. 65:17 therefore refer? 24. What other 
class of scriptures now demands attention? 25. What' does 
the horn of Dan. 7:21, 22 symbolize? 26. Will it ever he 



THE MILLENNIUM. 173 

horn symbolizes the papacy. The papacy is never 
to be reformed. It exists till it is destroyed by the 
brightness of Christ's coming. 2 Thess. 2 : 3-8. A 
triumphant church, a converted world, with the pa- 
pacy, that great antichristian power, doing its work 
of death therein, would be an impossibility. 

2. The wicked continue with the righteous, as il- 
lustrated' by the parable of the wheat and the tares, 
until the end of the Christian age. Matt. 13:24- 
30, 36-43. This parable represents the righteous by 
wheat, the wicked by tares. Both are to grow to- 
gether till the harvest. The harvest is explained to 
be the end of the world, and the reapers are the an- 
gels who are sent to gather the elect when the Lord 
appears. Matt. 24:31. There is no period in all 
this time for the tares to become wheat for a thou- 
sand years, as would have to be the case if at any 
time the world became converted, and then tarn 
back to tares again, as would also have to be the 
case; for when the Lord comes, he finds little faith, 
but great wickedness on the earth. Luke 18:8; 2 
Tim. 3:1-5, 12, 13; 2 Thess. 1:7-10. 

3. Persecution and tribulation are appointed as 
the portion of the children of God in all ages. Such 
it was from the days of Abel to the days of the apos- 
tle Paul, according to Heb. 11. Pointing back to 
the ancient worthies, who, beholding the reward afar 
off, endured all manner of tribulation, but died be- 



reformed? 27. How and when will it be destroyed? 28. 
Can there be a converted world with the papacy still ruling? 
29. What is taught bv the parable of the wheat and tares, 
Matt. 13:24-30, 36-48? 30. What is the harvest ? 31. What 
condition of faith will the Lord find when he comes? 
32. What is the portion of God's children in all ages? 



174 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

fore receiving the promises, the apostle says, " God 
having provided some better thing for us, that they 
without us should not be made perfect." Heb. 11: 
39, 40. He declares again that they that will live 
godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Tim. 
3:12), and it is elsewhere stated that this would 
be especially the case in the last days, when scoffers 
would abound (2 Pet. 3 : 3), and Satan would work 
in mighty power. Rev. 12:12; 2 Thess. 2:8-12. 

4. The last days, which are considered by believ- 
ers in the world's conversion and the temporal mil- 
lennium as the most favorable for the accomplish- 
ment of that object, are described by the apostle as 
days of special peril, in reference to which he warns 
the church: " This know also, that in the last days 
perilous times shall come," etc. Even professed 
Christians, it is declared, would be so far carried 
away by the prevailing evils, that it would be nec- 
essary for the true to turn away from the false. 
Nineteen terrible charges are made against those 
even who have a form of godliness; and "from 
such," says the apostle, "turn away." 2 Tim. 3:1- 
5. How could this be, if the world was converted? 

5. According to the declarations of Peter (2 Peter 
3 : 3), scoffers are to arise in the last days, and in- 
quire, " Where is the promise of his coming? " which 
could not be the case if the world was all converted, 
and so remained a thousand years before his coming. 

6. The last days are to be like the days of Noah 
and Lot. Then the multitudes rejected the truth, 
and perished; the few believed, and were saved. 



33. What is the character of the last days as described by 
the apostle? 34. When do Peter's scoffers arise ? 35. How 
do the last days compare with those of Noah and Lot? 






THE MILLENNIUM. 175 

" Even thus shall it be when the Son of man is re- 
vealed." Luke 17 : 26-30. 

7. At the very time when the world and the great 
mass of professors of religion are cherishing the de- 
lusive hope of a good time coming, of peace and pros- 
perity, destruction, and not the conversion of the 
world, is impending. "When they shall say, Peace 
and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon 
them, and they shall not escape." 1 Thess. 5 : 3. 
The doctrine that the world must be converted, and 
a thousand years of peace and righteousness intervene, 
before the Lord comes, is the very soul and essence 
of such a cry as the apostle mentions ; and that doc- 
trine has arisen, and is being zealously promulgated, 
during these later years. No one need be deceived ; 
for the apostle tells us, in the text last quoted, what 
the result will be. 

8. The way to destruction ever has been, still is, 
and will be to the end of time, a broad and easy 
way, but the way to life a strait and narrow way. 
Our Lord himself has thus declared : " Enter ye in at 
the strait gate ; for wide is the gate, and broad is 
the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there 
be which go in thereat ; because strait is the gate, 
and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and 
few there be that find it." Matt. 7 : 13, 14. We 
nowhere read that at any time in the history of the 
church the broad way would merge into the narrow 
way, and run for a thousand«years in the direction 
to life, and away from destruction, as must be the 

36. What is impending when the cry of peace and safety is 
heard ? 37. How is the way to destruction and the way to 
life described? 38. Will these ways ever change ? 39. Do 
we anywhere read that the world will some day desert the 
way to destruction, and press into the way to life ? 40. What 



176 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

case if the world is to be converted and a temporal 
millennium ensue ; or, to put it, perhaps, in more 
accurate phraseology, nowhere do we read that the 
way to destruction would at some time become sud- 
denly deserted, and no one be found walking there- 
in, while all the world would be pressing into the nar- 
row way which leads to life. The doctrine of the 
temporal millennium, therefore, cannot be true. 

The gospel has not been sent into the world coup- 
led with any purpose or design to convert al] men. 
Its object is declared by an inspired apostle to be 
simply to take out of the Gentiles a people for God's 
name. Acts 15 : 14. This it has been doing, and 
still is doing. But from the days of the apostles to 
the present, the prospect that the world would ever 
be converted has been growing less and less promis- 
ing. If the church in its earliest and purest state 
could not bring all men to the obedience of the gos- 
pel, even where it was preached in its greatest power, 
and confirmed by the mightiest miracles, much less 
can this be accomplished by that type of Christian- 
ity which prevails at the present day. 

For two great reasons, then, we reject the idea of 
the world's conversion before the coming of Christ : 
1. No texts can be found to support such a doctrine ; 
and 2. Many declarations are found positively for- 
bidding it. It is therefore an error, and a particu- 
larly dangerous error, as its tendency is to lead people 
to reject the doctrine of the second coming of Christ, 
and to neglect the preparation necessary therefor. 

is the design of the gospel ? 41. Has it already largely ac- 
complished this ? 42. How does the first state of the church 
compare with the present ? 43. What then are the two 
great reasons for rejecting the doctrine of a temporal mil- 
lennium ? 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



Matthew 24. 

The 24th chapter of Matthew, being the longest 
prediction of consecutive events uttered by Christ 
while here upon the earth, has been justly styled 
"Our Lord's Great Prophecy." Peculiar dignity 
and importg,nce attaches to it because it is a proph- 
ecy from the lips of Christ himself, unlike most 
others which came through the medium of inspired 
men. 

1. The prediction covers all the gospel dispensa- 
tion from the days of Christ to the end of time. It 
was not all fulfilled at and by the overthrow of Je- 
rusalem in A. D. 70, and the dispersion of the Jewish 
nation, as some claim. This is proved by many 
considerations, among which may be mentioned, — 

(1.) The fulfillment of verse 7, which could not 
take place till after the Roman empire had broken 
up, and nations and kingdoms had been developed 
therefrom. But for a hundred years previous to 
the overthrow of Jerusalem, and for nearly three 

QUESTIONS ON LESSON EIGHTEEN. 

1. What is the 24th of Matthew justly styled ? 2. What 
gives it peculiar importance ? 3. How much time does the 
prediction cover ? 4. When do some claim it was fulfilled ? 
5. What limits the fulfillment of verse 7? 6. How long 
after Jerusalem's overthrow did the Roman kingdom remain 

12 [177] 



178 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

hundred years afterward, Rome, like a mighty co- 
lossus, bestrode the world, and held all people sub- 
ject to itself in the unity of its empire. 

(2.) After their rejection of Christ, the Jews were 
not the elect of verse 22. The days of tribulation 
accompanying the destruction of Jerusalem were 
not shortened for their sake, neither were they 
shortened for the sake of Christians, the true elect ; 
for these all fled from Jerusalem at the appointed 
sign, and found safe shelter at Pella, sixty miles 
away, while wrath to the uttermost came upon the 
Jewish people. 

(3.) The signs predicted, verse 29, were to come 
after the tribulation referred to ; but all the signs 
pertaining to the destruction of Jerusalem occurred 
before that event. And moreover Christ had said 
that there should be no sign given to that people, 
but the sign of the prophet Jonas. 

(4.) Verse 14 could not be fulfilled till the light of 
the gospel had made the circuit of the globe. This 
was not true in that day, but it is in ours. 

(5.) No such signs as verse 29 predicted to occur, 
took place at the destruction of Jerusalem. It must 
therefore refer to a later time. 

(6.) The events attendant upon the coming of the 

a unit ? 7. Who were the elect ? 8. Was the tribulation 
attending the overthrow of Jerusalem shortened for either 
Jews or Christians ? 9. Where did the Christians find 
shelter? 10. When were the signs of verse 29 to occur? 
11. When did the signs attending Jerusalem's destruction 
occur ? 12. What only true sign was to be given to that 
generation ? 13. What must transpire before verse 14 could 
be fulfilled ? 14. Why must the prediction of verse 29 refer 
to a later time than that of the destruction of Jerusalem ? 
15. What can be said of the events mentioned in verses 27, 



MATTHEW 24. 179 

Son of man, as described in verses 27, 30, and 31, — 
the sudden glory, flashing like the lightning from 
east to west, his sign in heaven, the great sound of 
the trumpet, the wailing of all the tribes of the 
earth, and the speeding away of the cohorts of an- 
gels in dazzling glory to gather the elect from the 
four winds of heaven, — no such events occurred at 
the destruction of Jerusalem. The man is utterly 
reckless who will make such a preposterous affirma- 
tion. If the warlike entry of Titus into Judea, and 
his massing of the Roman legions against Jerusalem, 
fulfilled to the Jews all that is said of the coming of 
Christ, similar events would be his coming to other 
nations; and then it could be shown that he has 
already come thousands of times, and to almost 
every nation under heaven. 

2. As the prophecy, according to the foregoing 
evidence, was not confined to the destruction of 
Jerusalem, but reaches to the end of the world, it 
follows that wherever the " coming of Christ," or 
"the end," is spoken of, it refers to the end of the 
world. Following this clew, we find that we are, 
in three distinct sections in the chapter, taken over 
the ground from some event in the past to the close 
of time. The first section embraces verses 4-14; 
the second, verses 15-28; the third, verses 29-51. 

3. From the request of the disciples (verse 3), 
" Tell us, when shall these things be ? and what 
shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of 

30, 31 ? 16. If we apply these to Jerusalem, what conclu- 
sion follows? 17. What do the expressions "coming of 
Christ " and "the end/' as found in this chapter, refer to? 
18. Of how many sections is the chapter composed? and 
what verses embrace them ? 19. What is evident from verse 



180 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

the world? " it is evident that Christ had held with 
his disciples a more extensive conversation upon 
these subjects than is recorded in verse 2. The 
expression, "these things," doubtless refers to the 
primary object of their inquiry ; namely, the over- 
throw of the temple and the destruction of the city ; 
while the subject of his second coming and the end 
of the world, was one which had been naturally 
connected with it. The disciples, impressed with 
the glory and magnificence of the temple, called 
Christ's attention to the massive and apparently im- 
perishable structure. The stones in the foundation 
were of marvelous size, — fifty feet long, twenty-four 
feet broad, and fifteen feet thick, making eighteen 
thousand cubic feet of stone in one block ; and these 
were bound together with lead, and fastened with 
strong iron clamps. In reply he reveals to them the 
sad fact of its coming destruction, when not one 
stone should be left upon another. No impostor 
would ever have made such a prediction. The 
Jews were then at peace with the Romans; and 
their citadel was so strong that when Titus finally 
took it in A. B. 70, he acknowledged that it was 
God's hand which had compelled the Jews to relin- 
quish their strongholds, which no human power 
could have conquered. In the overthrow of Jeru- 
salem, the stones of the temple were not only bro- 
ken and dislodged, but the very ground on which 
they were erected was dug up and finally plowed by 
one Turnus Kufus. 

3? 20. What prediction did Christ make concerning the 
temple ? 21. "What were the dimensions of some of the" 
foundation stones ? 22. "Would a pretender have ventured 
to predict their destruction ? 23. What did Titus say when 
he finally took the Jewish citadel ? 24. What was done by 



MATTHEW 24. 181 

Passing naturally from this destruction, Christ 
takes occasion to refer to that greater destruction 
at his coming and kingdom, which shall involve, 
not Judea only, but the whole world. This is evi- 
dent from their subsequent conversation, in which 
Christ still further elucidates this question by trac- 
ing the history of his people through this dispensa- 
tion, giving some of the great features of their 
experience, and pointing out the great signs which 
should herald his second coming. 

He first puts them on their guard against impos- 
tors who should arise in his name. Having rejected 
the true Messiah, Satan was very willing that they 
should follow pretenders. One of these, Theudas by 
name, is mentioned by Josephus, of whom he says that 
"he deceived many. " Another is called in Acts 21:38, 
the "Egyptian," -who had four thousand followers. 
Following the overthrow of Jerusalem, there have 
appeared during this dispensation, according to 
Buck's Theological Dictionary, no less than twenty- 
four pretended Messiahs, who have drawm away 
multitudes of deluded followers. 

" Wars and rumors of war," soon followed. 
Home broke up into ten kingdoms; and between 
these divisions and other nations which have arisen, 
there has been increasing strife and war to the pres- 
ent time. We might expect from the nature of the 
prophecy that these would increase as we approach 
the end ; and in confirmation of this, it is only nec- 
essary to state that, according to the London Econ- 
omist, the estimated cost of the great wars of the 

Turnus Rufus ? 25. What does Christ say of false christs ? 
2G. How Tras his prediction fulfilled? 27. What prepared 
the way for the predicted "wars and rumors of war"? 



182 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

world for twenty-five years, from 1852 to 1877; was 
something over twelve thousand millions of dollars ! 

"Famines, pestilences, and earthquakes" were 
next mentioned as visitations to come upon the 
world in confirmation of this prophecy. These may 
not be taken as special signs of Christ's coming, only 
in so far as they show that the prophecy is true; 
and the increase of these occurrences would in a 
general way indicate the approach of the end. The 
past seventeen centuries have been marked by such 
calamities. In a work on Epidemics, etc., by Noah 
Webster, we have a record of eight great famines, 
five destructive earthquakes, thirteen visitations of 
plague and pestilence, involving the destruction of 
many millions of human beings. And from 1755, 
where Mr. Webster's list ends, the People's Cyclope- 
dia gives a list of thirty-four plagues and epidemics, 
down to 1878, which inflicted great suffering and 
loss of life upon the human family. 

The affliction of the church during the long period 
of papal persecution (verse 9) is then pointed out; 
then the false prophets of the last days (verse 11), 
fulfilled in modern Spiritualism ; then prevailing in- 
iquity and great spiritual declension, which we now 
behold (verse 12); and finally the preaching of the 
gospel of the kingdom in all the world, not to con- 
vert it, but simply as a witness to all nations ; and 
then the end comes. This last great sign stands out 
before us in the very last stages of its fulfillment. 

28. What did the wars of 25 years from 1852 to 1877, in our 
own generation cost ? 29. What may be said of famines, 
etc ? 30. How have the past seventeen centuries been 
marked by these calamities ? 31. What has fulfilled verses 
9-12? 32. Y/hat great sign is now before us ? 33. What 



MATTHEW 24. 183 

In our day the whole earth has been explored; 
every nation under heaven is known; and to every 
one the sound of the gospel has gone. From the 
very nature of the case we know that not much 
more can be required to constitute it a witness in 
the sense of the prophecy; and then the end will 
come. 

In verse 15 the Saviour turns his discourse back 
again to the destruction of Jerusalem, making evi- 
dent allusion to the prophecy of Dan. 9 : 26, 27, in 
which Rome in its pagan form is called an "abomi- 
nation." When Cestius Gallus, in October, A. D. 66, 
drew his legions up around Jerusalem, and com- 
menced the siege of the devoted city, the disciples 
recognized the sign ; and when, without any visible 
cause, he suddenly withdrew it, they saw their 
opportunity, and fled in haste, as the Lord had 
instructed them. Safe sheltered in the little village 
of Pella, they escaped the horrors of Jerusalem's 
overthrow. The prayer which the Saviour taught 
them to use (verse 20), — that they might not be 
obliged to flee in the winter, nor on the Sabbath day, 
thus recognizing the existence of the Sabbath as late 
as A. D. 66 to 70,— was fulfilled. 

Verses 21 and 22 look far into the future from 
that day, and bring to view the next most prominent 
feature in the experience of the church. From the 
great tribulation of the Jews, the mind is naturally 
carried forward by the word "then," which is occa- 



turn does the discourse take in verse 15 ? 34. What proph- 
ecy is alluded to ? 35. When did Cestius Gallus begin the 
siege of Jerusalem? 36. What sign did the disciples see in 
this ? 37. What providence appeared in their favor ? 38. 
What prayer was answered ? 39. When were verses 21 and 



184 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

sionally used in the Scriptures to cover a long period, 
as in verse 9, to the unparalleled affliction which his 
own people would suffer. This was fulfilled during 
the Dark Ages, when the little horn of Daniel 7, the 
" man of sin," the papacy, made war for centuries 
on the saints of the Most High, and wore them out, 
till twenty times as many of the servants of Christ 
went to a martyr's death, under this professedly 
Christian power, as had perished under the long rule 
of paganism. 

" Those days " (of persecution, not the prophetic 
period which marked the papal supremacy) were 
shortened for the elect's sake, in the introduction 
and subsequent maintenance of the work of the 
great Reformation of the 16th century. Verse 22. 

From this point we are again carried forward by 
the word "then" to the time when the subject of 
the second coming of Christ should be agitated, as 
we have seen in our own day. The false christs and 
false prophets have appeared in modern spiritualism, 
which boldly claims to be the coming of Christ and 
the ushering in of a new spiritual dispensation. But 
Christ charges us not to be moved by their '■ lo 
here's " or "lo there's ; " for the coming of Christ is 
not to occur in the " secret chambers " where spirit- 
ual circles are held, or death-bed scenes transpire, 
nor in the work of conversion by the Holy Spirit 
(in which sense Christ is "always" with his people), 
nor in " the desert " where the Mormons have erected 
their pseudo heavenly kingdom ; for his coming is to 
be as literal and visible as the lightnings flashing 

22 fulfilled ? 40. What days were shortened ? and how ? 
and when? 41. To what point are we then carried forward? 
42. What will Christ's coming be like in appearance ? 43. 



MATTHEW 24. 185 

across the heavens, and all will know it for them- 
selves. And the saints, as subsequently stated, will 
be gathered together by the angels ; but the judg- 
ments of God, like the eagles, will fall upon and de- 
vour the carcass, the wicked, wherever it is found. 
Under these circumstances, none will be left in 
doubt when his coming takes place. 

In verse 29 we are again taken back into the 
past, but only so far as to take in the signs in the 
natural world which should betoken the approach of 
the Son of man ; for, as if in sympathy with her 
divine Lord, Nature herself gives signs, in her do- 
main, of the coming of that glorious restitution 
which shall banish alHier woe. We are pointed to 
the time immediately following the tribulation before 
referred to. A little past the middle of the 18th 
century the last act of martyrdom occurred, said to 
be in the year 17(32. (Dowling's Romanism, p. 
609.) In 1780, May 19, the sun was supernaturally 
darkened. A summary of the facts in the case is 
well given in the explanatory Vocabulary of Noted 
Names, etc., of "Webster's Unabridged Dictionary ; 
and to this only we refer, as the general reader can 
perhaps the most easily verify it: — 

"Dark Day, The. May 19, 1780;— so called on 
account of a remarkable darkness on that day ex- 
tending over all New England. In some places, 
persons could .not see to read common print in the 
open air for several hours together. Birds sang 
their evening song, disappeared, and became silent ; 
fowls went to roost ; cattle sought the barnyard; 
and candles were lighted in the houses. The ob- 

Where does verse 29 take us ? 44. When may the tribula- 
tion of "those days" be said to have ended? 45, When 



186 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

scuration began about ten o'clock in the morning, 
and continued till the middle of the next night. 
. . . The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon 
is not known." 

The darkness extended far beyond the limits of 
New England. Herschel calls it " The dark day of 
North America." See " Our First Century," by 
Devens. The moon refused to give her light the 
following night, when, as expressed by Mr. Tenney 
in " Gage to the Historical Society," the darkness 
" was probably as gross as has ever been observed 
since the Almighty fiat gave birth to light." 

A little more than fifty years elapsed, and the 
predicted falling of the stars was fulfilled in the 
great meteoric shower of Nov. 13, 1833. This was 
the most notable exhibition of the kind that ever 
occurred, and covered extensive but undefined por- 
tions of the Western hemisphere. A star shower, 
almost equally striking, fulfilled it to the Eastern 
world, if that were necessary, in 1866. 

Fifty years have again gone by since 1833, and 
the world has plunged into an era of atmospheric 
convulsions which finds no parallel in the past. 
Next after the falling of the stars, the prophecy 
mentions the shaking of the powers of the heavens. 
If the atmospheric heavens are intended, are we not 
witnessing the fulfillment? Devestating floods in. 
some regions, disastrous drouths in others; ocean 
gales, tornadoes, electric storms, and deadly cyclones 
all over the land, stir men's hearts with fear ; while 
more recently the twilight conflagrations in the sky, 



was the sun darkened ? 46. When was the moon darkened? 
47. "When did the stars fall ? 48. What are we now witness- 



MATTHEW 24r. 187 

baffling their subtlest philosophy, are exciting large 
comment and wonder. May not these strange me- 
teorological conditions be justly called the shaking 
of the powers of the heavens ? If so, the sign of 
the coming Son of man cannot be far distant. 

And when he comes, the tribes of the earth, the 
nations who have rejected him, they who will 
" mourn " because of him, see him. John says (Rev. 
1 : 7) that when he cometh with clouds, every eye 
shall see him; and to show that this includes the 
wicked, he adds, " and they also which pierced him." 
Yet men now rise up and say that nobody will see 
him except a few righteous ; in other words, that 
"every" does not mean "every," and that "see" 
does not mean "see." We spend no time to refute 
such contradictions of the Scriptures, but leave those 
who make them to answer for their folly at the bar 
of God. 

To give his declarations double strength, the 
Lord now introduces the parable of the fig^-tree. 
Verses 32-35. At the first signs of returning vege- 
table life, while the bud is yet most tender, our con- 
victions are established and sure, that summer is 
nigh. And no such expectation was ever yet dis- 
appointed. The summer always comes. Just so 
surely those who see the signs he has given are to 
know that his coming is at hand. And he con- 
cludes with a solemn affirmation that " this genera- 
tion shall not pass away till all these things be 
fulfilled." 



ing? 49. Who behold the Saviour when he comes? 50. 
What does our Lord next introduce ? 51. What events 
constitute the "signs" to which he refers ? 52. To whom 



188 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TKUTH. 

"What is meant by this generation? and what gen- 
eration is referred to? These are questions which 
have exercised many minds. And to those who 
insist upon finding some definite points for the 
beginning and ending of the generation, and gaug- 
ing its length by some well-defined measuring rod, 
the remarks here made will not be at all satisfac- 
tory ; for we attempt nothing in this direction. It 
does not seem to us necessary. Christ addresses 
those who had seen "all" of a certain class of 
events; and those events were the ones which are 
mentioned as " signs " of the great event which is 
here the object of discourse; namely, the appearing 
of Christ in the clouds of heaven. Those who saw 
only the darkening of the sun, had not seen all these 
things ; those who saw the falling of the stars had 
not seen them. Those now living, who have a his- 
torical knowledge of the past, and see what we see, 
— those before whom all these things are held up, as 
they are now, in consolidated array, as signs of the 
end, — have seen them, and do see them. '"We believe 
the language is addressed to the mass of the people 
now living; that the present is the generation ; and 
that this generation shall not pass before all is con- 
summated; that is, that the mass of the world's 
inhabitants now living will witness the coming of 
the Son of man. We say this with a full apprecia- 
tion of the fact that one person dies, and more are 
born, every second of time ; and that, with this rapid 
influx and exit, it takes no great length of time to 
change the mass of the world's inhabitants; yet we 

does lie refer by the word "ye" 1 53. Who have seen the 
signs referred to ? 54. What generation, then, is the one 
spoken of in verse H ? 55. How near does this make the 



MATTHEW 24. 189 

believe the Lord is now so near that the people 
living at the present time, as a body, will behold 
his coming. 

A striking illustration, based on a reference to the 
days of Noah, follows, and the chapter closes with a 
solemn admonition to the servants to watch, to give 
the household meat in due season, and to avoid the 
fate of the evil servant who says in his heart, " My 
Lord delay eth his coming." And a blessing is pro- 
nounced upon that servant, who, when his Lord 
cometh, shall be found in the faithful discharge of 
all his duty. 

coming of the Lord to be ? 56. What is our present duty ? 



^^^k^f^^^- 



CHAPTER XIX. 



The Seven Churches. 

In Rev. 2 and 3 are seven short epistles addressed 
to seven churches. These, like other lines of proph- 
ecy in this book, are doubtless to be taken as pro- 
phetic, covering the whole gospel dispensation. A 
few of the reasons for this view are as follows: — 

There were more churches in Asia than seven. 
Even if we confine ourselves to that western divis- 
ion of Asia known as Asia Minor, or even that 
small fraction of Asia Minor where the seven 
churches were situated which are addressed, there 
were other important churches in the same territory. 
Collosse was but a short distance from Laodicea. 
Miletus was nearer than any of the seven to Patmos, 
where John had his vision. And Troas, where 
Paul spent a season with the disciples, was not far 
from Pergamos. 

Why, then, were just seven churches selected out 
of this number and not all of them addressed, if 
what is said pertained only to the Christians of 
those times? The entire book of the Revelation was 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER NINETEEN. 

1. How are these churches to he regarded? 2. Among 
the reasons for considering them prophetic, what is the first 
one? 3. Where was Collosse situated? 4. What was the 
situation of Miletus ? 5. Where was Troas? 6. How much 
was dedicated to these seven churches ? 7. Did the proph- 
[190] 



THE SEVEN CHUKCHES. 191 

dedicated to the seven churches. But the prophecy 
of this book was no more applicable to the seven 
literal churches named, than to other Christians in 
Asia Minor, those, for instance, who dwelt in Pontus, 
Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia. Only a small 
portion of the book of the Revelation could have 
personally concerned the churches named, or any of 
the Christians of John's day; for the events it 
brings to view were mostly so far in the future as 
to be beyond the life-time of the generation then 
living. 

Again, the seven stars which the Son of man 
held in his right hand are declared to be the angels 
of the seven churches. The angels of the churches 
doubtless symbolize the ministers of the churches. 
The fact that the Son of man holds them in his 
right hand must denote the upholding power, guid- 
ance, and protection which he bestows upon these 
ministers. But are there only seven thus cared for 
by the Master? Rather, are not all the true min- 
isters of the whole gospel age thus upheld and sup- 
ported by him ? 

Still further, John, looking into the Christian 
dispensation, saw only seven candlesticks represent- 
ing seven churches, in the midst of which stood the 
Son of man. His position in their midst must de- 
note his presence with them, his watchcare over 

eey concern them particularly and personally? 8. In what 
other countries were these Christians equally concerned in 
the prophecies of the hook of the Revelation? 9. When were 
these events mostly to take place 1 10. "What do the seven 
stars denote? 11. Where were these seven stars seen? 12. 
What did this signify? 13. What does this prove in refer- 
ence to the seven churches? 14. How many candlesticks 
did John see? 15. What is signified hy Christ's position in 



192 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

them, and his searching scrutiny of all their works. 
But does he thus regard only seven individual 
churches in this dispensation? Does not this rather 
represent his position in reference to all the churches 
in this age? 

Why, then, were these particular churches chosen 
that are mentioned? Doubtless for the reason that 
the names of these churches are significant, indi- 
cating the religious features of those periods of the 
gospel age which they respectively represent. If, 
for these reasons and others which might Tbe ad- 
duced, these epistles are prophetic, they naturally 
apply to seven distinct periods of the gospel age, 
from the days of John to the end of time. 

Let us then see if we can find an application of 
these epistles, which is both Scriptural and consist- 
ent, to seven different portions of the gospel dispen- 
sation. 

1. The church of Ephesus. This word "ephe- 
sus " signifies desirable, chief ; and it may well be 
taken as expressive of the character and condition 
cf the church in its first state. Christ tells the 
members of this church that they have tried them 
which say they are apostles and are not. This 
could appropriately be addressed to a church cover- 
ing the apostolic age. But even before this period 
ended, the church had begun to lose her first love, 

the midst of these? 16. What does this prove in reference 
to the churches? 17. Why, then, were these seven particular 
churches taken as the ones to whom to address the Revela- 
tion? 18. If these epistles are prophetic, what do they rep- 
resent? 19. What is the meaning of Ephesus? 20. How 
does this apply to the first church? 21. What is said about 
apostles in this message? 22. What does that prove? 23. 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES. 193 

and was admonished to repent. The promise to the 
overcomer (verse 7) reveals the important fact that 
the tree of life once here upon the earth is now in 
the paradise of God. We understand this period to 
cover the age of the apostles and their immediate 
successors, say, to A. D. 100. 

2. The next address is to the church of Smyrna. 
The word " Smyrna" signifies myrrh. It seems, 
therefore, to be a fit appellation for the church of 
God when it was about to pass through the fiery 
furnace of persecution, and prove itself a "sweet 
smelling savor " unto God. This church was to 
have tribulation ten days ; and if the message ad- 
dressed to it was prophetic, those days were pro- 
phetic, and signified ten years. We have then a not- 
able persecution of ten years' duration here brought 
to view. And it is an indisputable fact that the 
last and most bloody of the ten persecutions under 
Diocletian continued just ten years, from A. D. 302 
to A. D. 312. — "Buck's Theological Dictionary," pp. 
332, 333. 

It would be difficult to make an application of 
this language on the ground that these messages are 
not prophetic ; for in that case only ten literal days 
could be meant, and we can hardly suppose that a 
persecution of only ten days on a single church 
would be a matter of prophecy. But more than 
this, all the churches suffered in those persecutions; 
and where, then, would be the propriety of singling 

What important fact is here revealed in regard to the tree of 
life? 24. "What church is next addressed? 25. What is the 
meaning of the word Smyrna? 26. What took place to 
make this applicable to the church of this period? 27. What 
additional reason do we here find for calling these churches 

13 



194 SYNOPSIS OF THE PEESENT TRUTH. 

out one to the exclusion of the others, as alone in- 
volved in such a calamity? 

The direction to them in verse 10 is to be faithful 
unto death, not until, as some understand it. They 
were to hold fast even at the expense of life itself, 
and then they had the promise of a crown of life in 
the future. The period covered by this church ex- 
tends from the apostolic age A. D. 100 to the time 
when the church entered another period in the 
early part of the fourth century. 

3. The church of Pergamos. The word " perga- 
mos " signifies hight, elevation. The church entered 
into this period when Christianity had secured the 
throne of the Roman empire, and Constantine had 
become a nominal convert to the gospel, in A. D. 323, 
and extended to the setting up of the papacy in A. 
D. 538. The spirit of the world worked mightily in 
this period; hence the church is addressed as being 
where Satan's seat is. Christ takes cognizance of 
the unfavorable situation of his people during this 
period. But disadvantages in situation are no ex- 
cuse for wrongs in the church, and this church 
maintained some features for which they were se- 
verely censured. They had those in their midst 
that held the doctrine of Balaam, referring to their 
falling into spiritual idolatry. They had also those 
that held to the doctrine of the Mcolaitans. This 
was a form of heresy said to have originated with 
one Nicholas, who taught a plurality of wives, etc.. 

prophetic? 28. How far does the period covered by this 
church extend? 29. What is the signification of the term 
Pergamos? 30. When did this period commence? 31. 
What is meant by the doctrines of Balaam which they held? 
32. What by the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes? 33. What is 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES. 195 

The promise to the overcomer in this church is that 
he shall eat of the hidden manna, and receive a 
white stone, with a new namn written thereon. 
What that is, it would perhaps be unnecessary, as 
well as useless, to inquire. Wesley says: " Wouldst 
thou know what the new name will be? The way 
to this is plain — overcome. Till then, all thy in- 
quiries are vain." 

4. The church of Thyatira. This name signifies 
siveet savor of labor, or sacrifice of contrition, and 
is an appropriate description of the church during a 
period of oppression and persecution. If J the church 
of Pergamos reached down to the setting up of the 
papacy in 538, the period of the church of Thyatira 
would naturally extend to the time when the perse- 
cuting power of the papal church was restrained by 
the great Reformation of the 16th century. This 
was that period of tribulation upon the church men- 
tioned by our Lord in Matt. 24: 21, such as it was 
never to experience again. 

The woman Jezebel. This name is here used 
figuratively, denoting, probably, false teachers from 
Rome, some of whom Christians did sutler to preach 
and teach among them. See History of the Wal- 
denses. "I will put upon you none other burden." 
Verse 24. This, doubtless, refers to their relief 
from tribulation, the days of which were shortened 

the promise to the overcomer? 34. What is meant by the 
white stone and new name? 35. What church is next 
addressed? 36. What is the signification of this word? 37. 
To what period does this naturally apply? 38. What pas- 
sage in Matthew applies to this time? 39. What is meant 
by the woman Jezebel? 40. What does Christ mean by 
saying, " I will put upon you none other burden "? 41. What 



196 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

by the great Reformation, for the elect's sake. 
Matt. 24:22. 

"Hold fast till I come." This language shows 
that this period reaches so near the end that some 
wiio were numbered with the church of Thyatira, 
would live to behold the coming of Christ. 

5. The church of Sardis. The word "sardis" 
signifies 'prince or song of joy, or that which re- 
mains. For the period covered by this church, we 
come down this side of the Reformation, and of 
papal supremacy. By the Sardis church is un- 
doubtedly meant the churches brought out by the 
great Reformation ; and the definition of the name 
answers well to the condition of the church during 
this period. What high position has it held ! What 
favor has it had with the world! But how has 
pride and popularity grown apace, until spirituality 
is almost entirely destroyed! This church is to 
hear the proclamation of the second coming of 
Christ in all its power ; for the True Witness says, 
" If thou shalt not watch, I will come upon thee as a 
thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will 
come upon thee." The coming here brought to 
view is unconditional. By watching they would be 
prepared for it ; and by not watching they would 
be overtaken as by a thief by this event. This 
proclamation they have heard in the great Advent 
movement of the present generation. 

In the 5th verse we have some solemn facts stated 



is shown by the injunction, "Hold fast till I come"? 42. 
What is the definition of Sardis? 43. To what period does 
this apply? 44. What proclamation was this church to 
hear? 45. Has it heard it, and when? 46. What is re- 
sealed in the fifth verse of Revelation 3 ? 47. When is this 



THE SEVEN CHUKCHES. 197 

in regard to the book of life. He that overcometh 
will not have his name blotted out; and this implies 
that all those who do not overcome will have their 
names blotted out from the book of life. This 
work of blotting out, as we have seen in our in- 
vestigation of the sanctuary, takes place at the 
close of Christ's priestly work in heaven. There 
will be at the conclusion of that work but. two 
classes: one class having their names retained in 
the Lamb's book of life, and their sins blotted out 
of the book of God's remembrance ; the other hav- 
ing their names blotted from the book of life, and 
their sins retained to appear against them in the 
Judgment. 

6. The church of Philadelphia. The proclama- 
tion of the Advent doctrine to this church results in 
the introduction of another state of the church, 
called Philadelphia. This word signifies brotherly 
love ; and this was the great characteristic of that 
church brought out by the preaching of the Advent 
doctrine. To this church, Christ says, " I have set 
before thee an open door." The great work of the 
first message brought us to the cleansing of the 
sanctuary, when the door into the most holy was 
opened, and there was seen the ark of God's testa- 
ment. Rev. 11:19. This church has the promise 
of being kept from the hour of temptation which 
shall come upon all the world to try them. This 



work to be accomplished? 48. To what did the great proc- 
lamation given in this period lead? 49. What is the mean- 
ing of the word Philadelphia? 50. What was the great 
characteristic of the church brought out by the preaching of 
the soon coming of Christ? 51. What is referred to by the 
open door set before this church? 52. What promise is 



198 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TEUTH. 



hour of temptation is, doubtless, that brought to 
view in Rev. 13:14, and in 2 Thess. 2:9, 10, which 
will be produced by a still further development of 
spiritualism, which is already working so mightily 
in the land. Now, says Christ, "Behold I come 
quickly." This period brings us down very near to 
the time of the second coming of Christ. 

7. The church of Laodicea. The last message is 
to the church of Laodicea. The word " laodicea " 
signifies, the judging of the people; or, according to 
Cruden, a just people. And either of these defini- 
tions would apply to the time and people between 
the close of the first message, in 1844, and the end 
of time; for in this period of the cleansing of the 
sanctuary the judgment of the people is going for- 
ward, and the result will finally be "a just people," 
— a people freed from all their sins. 

This applies to the last generation of the church; 
and there is in this testimony that which should 
startle and arouse us. This church, with the light 
respecting the soon coming of Christ shining clearly 
forth, and that great event even at the door, is 
found in a lukewarm, half-hearted, indifferent con- 
dition ; and at the same time, the members deceived 
with the idea that they are rich, and have need of 
nothing. In this condition they are very offensive 
to God. Not because in themselves they are worse 
than other people have been, or are, but because, 
having greater light, they should occupy a very 



given to this church? 53. What will produce this hour of 
temptation? 54. What does Christ then say respecting his 
coming? 55. What does the word "laodicea" signify? 56. 
Where, therefore, must this apply? 57. What is the condition 
of this church? 58. What is meant by the gold, white rai- 



THE SEVEN CHUECHES. 199 

advanced position. "Therefore/' says the True 
Witness, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in 
the fire, that thou mayest be rich." That is, love 
and faith working together, hand in hand, to make 
them rich in good works, and rich toward God. 
They are counseled to buy white raiment; that is, 
to put on a robe of righteousness, or have their 
characters conform wholly to the law of God. 
They are counseled, also, to anoint their eyes with 
eyesalve, that they may see. This eyesalve is the 
unction from on high, the anointing of the Holy 
Spirit, which gives us true discernment in spiritual 
things. And God's people, during this time, will be 
rebuked and chastened by him until they become 
zealous, and manifest true repentance. 

Christ stands at the door, and knocks; and the 
promise to him who will open the door is that Christ 
will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with 
Christ. This denotes a union such as no church has 
ever before enjoyed; and an outpouring of the 
Spirit, and an exercising of the heavenly graces be- 
yond anything in the previous experience of the 
church. This is, without doubt, the arising of the 
"day star in the hearts" of believers, spoken of in 
2 Pet. 1:19, and the time of refreshing spoken of by 
Peter in Acts 3:19, which the church is to experi- 
ence just before the coming of Christ. And they 
need this work wrought for them to enable them to 
stand during the fearful scenes with which the 
world's history shall close. n 



ment, and eyesalve which they are counseled to procure? 
59. What is embraced in the promise to those who open the 
door of their hearts? 60. What parable probably has its 



200 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

Here it is, undoubtedly, that the parable of the 
wedding garment (Matt. 22:11-13) applies. The 
king comes in to see the guests, which is an exami- 
nation of our characters in the sanctuary above. A 
man is found there not having on the wedding 
garment, or not prepared to stand the test of the 
Judgment ; he is cast out into outer darkness. And 
right in this critical time, when our cases in the 
sanctuary are pending, and we are unprepared for 
that searching test, the True Witness comes to us 
with an earnest entreaty to buy of him the white 
raiment, or to secure, while we may, the wedding 
garment, to be prepared for the King when he shall 
come in to see the guests, and to bid those who are 
ready, to the marriage supper of the Lamb. If we 
fail to heed this testimony, and so do not provide 
ourselves with gold, white raiment, and eyesalve, 
Christ here says, "I will spew thee out of my 
mouth." The parable says, which is the same 
thing, that if we are not clothed with the wedding 
garment, we shall be bound hand and foot, and cast 
into outer darkness. Both expressions denote an 
utter and final rejection. 

To the over comer is here given a promise of sit- 
ting with Christ on his throne, as he has overcome 
and is now sitting with his Father in his throne. 
This shows that Christ occupies two thrones ; first, 
the throne of his Father, which he has occupied in 
conjunction with the Father (Heb. 8:1; Zech. 6: 
12, 13) ever since his ascension to heaven; and sec- 
ondly, the throne of his own kingdom, the throne 

application here? 61. State the points of comparison between 
the parable and this prophecy. 62. What is the promise to 
the overcomer? 63. What does this prove respecting Christ ? 



THE SEVEN CHUKCHES. 201 

of his father David, which he will take when he 
begins his own individual reign, at the close of his 
priestly work. 

These messages to the churches are both interest- 
ing and important, as showing the internal history 
of the church from the days of the apostles to the 
end of time, and especially important on account of 
the solemn warning and the practical duties en- 
joined upon the last church. In this prophecy we 
are able to trace the history of the church step by 
step through this dispensation, finding the most ac- 
curate agreement between the testimony of God and 
the time and condition of the different periods of the 
church. It can thus be shown unmistakably that 
we have reached the last period, the Laodicean state 
of the church. And now, under the tremendous 
pressure of the spirit of the world and of the apostasy 
that prevails in these last days, even that people 
who have the truth for this time, and should feel its 
searching power, and be animated with its life-giv- 
ing spirit, are lukewarm, — neither cold nor hot. 
But Christ is at the door; the Judgment is impend- 
ing; the King is soon coming in to see the guests; 
how important, then, that some message be given us 
adapted to our condition and our dangers. Such a 
message we have in this last address to the church. 
To give heed to this will be our salvation; to reject 
it will be our eternal ruin. 



64. What gives these messages interest and importance? 
05. Hoyv is this message calculated to meet our present 
v/ants? 



CHAPTER XX. 



The Seven Seals. 

The prophecy of the seven seals is presented in the 
4th, 5th, and 6th chapters' of the Revelation. The 
scenes which these seals portray are brought to view 
in Rev. 6, and the first verse of Resr. 8. They evi- 
dently cover events with which the church is con- 
nected from the opening of this dispensation to the 
coming of Christ. 

While the seven churches present the internal 
history of the church, the seven seals bring to view 
the great events of its external history. 

1. The first seal (chapter 6 : 2), showing a white 
horse, with a rider who went forth with a bow and 
a crown conquering and to conquer, represents the 
work of the gospel during the apostolic age. The 
whiteness of the horse denotes the purity of the 
church; and the victories of the rider, the marvelous 
successes of the first ministers of Christ. 

2. The second seal introduces a red horse. Under 
this seal, peace is taken from the earth, and events of 



1. Yfhere is tlie jn-ophecy of the seven seals found? 2. 
What do they embrace? 3. What is the difference between 
the seven churches and the seven seals? 4. What does the 
first seal represent? 5. What is indicated by the color of 
the horse? 6. What by the success of him who sat thereon? 
[202] 



THE SEVEN SEALS. 203 

strife and confusion are introduced. This is shown 
by a great sword in the hands of him who sat on 
this horse. This seal is supposed to cover the time 
from the days of the apostles, at about the close of 
the first century, to the days of Constantine, A. D. 
323-337. In his day the church had so far aposta- 
tized that peace was taken from the earth, and re- 
ligious strife became so intense, that, as Mosheim 
testifies, there was continual war. 

3. The third seal brings to view a black horse. 
He that sat upon him had a pair of balances in his 
hand. Then a voice was heard, saying, "A measure, 
of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley 
for a penny, and see thou hurt not the oil and the 
wine." The color of this horse, just the opposite of 
that of the first horse, denotes the terrible apostasy 
both in doctrine and practice w T hich had taken place 
in the church. The reference to the balances, the 
wheat, and the barley, sets forth the worldly spirit 
which had taken full possession of the professed 
church. The period which this seal is understood 
to cover, was embraced between . the years 323, 
when Constantine was converted, and 538, when 
the papacy was set up. This was a period of su- 
perstition, of darkness and error, during which 
the principles of the great papal apostasy were rap- 
idly developed. 

7. What takes place under the second seal? 8. "What rep- 
resents this? 9. What time is covered by this seal? 10. 
To what extent had religious strife increased in the days of 
Constantine? 11. What is the color of the horse of the 
third seal? 12. What is indicated by this color ? 13. What 
does the reference to the balances, wheat, and barley show? 
14. What is the period covered by this seal? 15. What 
were the characteristics of this period ? 16. What scene is 



204 SYNOPSIS OF THE PEESENT TRUTH. 

4. The fourth seal introduces characters and 
movements stranger still. We behold a pale horse, 
the name of whose rider was death ; and hell (hades, 
the grave) followed with him. "And they had 
power to kill with sword and with hunger and with 
death and beasts of the earth." The preceding seal 
having brought us to the commencement of the pa- 
pal supremacy, this seal naturally covers that period 
of its history during which it had in its hands the 
power of persecution. This was restrained by the 
great Reformation of the 16th century, as we shall 
see under the following seal. 

5. The fifth seal brings to view a scene which the 
language of the scripture itself best describes: "I 
saw under the altar the souls of them that were 
slain for the word of God, and for the testimony 
which they held : And they cried with a loud voice, 
saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou 
not j udge and avenge our blood on them that dwell 
on the earth? And white robes were given unto 
every one of them ; and it was said unto them, that 
they should rest yet for a little season until their 
fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should 
be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. 

This passage is supposed to furnish strong testi- 
mony in proof of the conscious existence of disem- 
bodied souls. But a little thought will show some 
insuperable objections to such a view. These souls 
are under the altar; and the altar is the altar of 
sacrifice ; for it is where they were slain ; but there 

presented under the fourth seal? 17. What time does it 
cover? 18. To what work do the symbols employed appro- 
priately refer ? 19. What did John see when the fifth seal 
was opened? 20. What is this passage supposed to prove? 



THE SEVEN SEALS. 205 

is no such altar in heaven. They cried that their 
blood might be avenged; but the disembodied im- 
mortal soul has no blood. If they were in heaven, 
they could, according to the popular view, look over 
into the vault of hell, and behold their persecutors 
writhing in its inextinguishable flames ; for such a 
conclusion follows from the view generally enter- 
tained of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. 
Luke 16:19-31. How, then, could these souls cry 
for vengeance upon those who had slain them? 
Was it not enough to behold them in the flames of 
hell, there to be punished through all eternity? 

In view of these difficulties, both Adam Clarke 
and Dr. Barnes give up the idea that this is a literal 
representation. Clarke says: "■ The altar was upon 
the earth," and Barnes says that we are not to sup- 
pose that such a scene literally occurred, but that 
justice cried to God for vengeance upon those who 
had slain the martyrs as really as if they cried 
themselves. 

But how could they cry, it is asked, if they were 
not conscious ? The answer is at hand : They are 
represented as crying for vengeance, by a very com- 
mon figure of speech, just as Abel's blood is said to 
have cried (Gen. 4 : 10), and just as we read that 



21. Where are these souls seen ? 22. What altar is this ? 
23. Is there such an altar in heaven ? 24. What do they 
cry? 25. What is the objection to applying this to disem- 
bodied immortal souls? 26. If such souls are in heaven, 
what view is constantly before them? 27. What proves that 
this is the popular view ] 28. What, then, can be said of that 
view which represents them as crying for vengeance ? 29. 
What does Dr. Clarke say in regard to the altar? 30. What 
is Barnes's admission ? 31. If not conscious, how could they 
properly be represented as crying to God ? References. 32. 



206 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

the stone cried out of the wall, and the beam out of 
the timber answered it (Hab. 2 : 11). The persons 
here brought to view are those who had fallen under 
the papal persecutions of the preceding seal. The 
expression, "the souls of them that were slain," is 
simply a strong expression to denote the persons, 
with all their capabilities of being, who had been 
sacrificed by papal fury. It means just what is 
meant by the parallel expressions, " spirits of just 
men made perfect" (Heb. 12 : 23), "Father of spir- 
its" (Heb. 12 : 9), and "God of the spirits of all 
flesh " (Num. 16 : 22 ; 27 : 16) ; and these Dr. Clarke 
admits do not mean men "in a disembodied state." 
Note on 1 Pet. 3 : 19. The fact that they had been 
slain, cried like Abel's blood to God for vengeance. 

The white robes that were given unto them were 
robes of character.. They had gone down into the 
grave covered with ignominy and reproach. But 
the Reformation vindicated them in the eyes of all 
Christendom. It was seen that they were not the 
vile heretics they had been represented to be, but the 
precious ones of the earth. They were to rest a little 
season. A few more were to be slain before the day 
for the final vindication of the people of God. 

This seal covers the period from the beginning of 
the Reformation in the early part of the sixteenth 
century, to the opening of the sixth seal, about two 
hundred and thirty years later. 

Who are the persons here brought to view? 33. What can 
be said of the expression, "souls of them"? 34. What was 
it that cried to God for vengeance? 35. What were the 
white robes? 36. How were they given? 37. What is 
meant by their resting a little season? 38. What period is 
covered bv this seal? 39. What is brought to view under 



THE SEVEN SEALS. 207 

6. The opening of the sixth seal is marked by the 
occurrence of a notable earthquake, followed, in due 
order of succession, by the darkening of the sun, the 
turning of the moon to blood, the falling of the stars, 
the departing of the heavens as a scroll, and events 
immediately connected with the second coming of 
Christ. 

The earthquake was unquestionably the great 
earthquake of Lisbon, which occurred Nov. 1, 1755. 
This convulsion of nature affected at least four million 
square miles of the earth's surface. The sun was 
darkened May 19, 1780. The moon refused to give 
her light the following night ; and when it did 
appear, it bore the appearance of blood as described 
in this prophecy. The stars of heaven fell Nov. 13, 
1833. Other star showers or meteoric displays have 
been witnessed at different times, but this was the 
most remarkable and extensive of all. 

Mark speaks of the same signs and locates them at 
the same time. He says, " In those days, after that 
tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon 
shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall 
fall." "In those days," before the 1260 years of 
papal triumph ended, but' " after that tribulation," 
after the persecuting power of the papacy was 
restrained (which was near 1755, when the sixth seal 



the sixth seal? 40. What earthquake fulfilled this prophecy? 
41. "When did it occur? 42. How extensive was it? 43. 
When was the sun darkened \ 44. When and how was the 
testimony relative to the moon fulfilled? 45. When did the 
stars fall? 46. Is not the character of these phenomena as 
signs destroyed by the fact that there have been other like 
exhibitions? And if not, why not? 47. How does Mark 
speak of those signs? 48. What days does Mark refer to? 



208 SYNOPSIS OE THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

was opened), between that point and 1798 where the 
1260 years ended, these scenes were to begin to' 
appear ; and right here in 1780, history locates the 
most remarkable phenomena of this kind that have 
ever been seen. 

It will be noticed that in the fulfillment of this 
prophecy we stand between the 13th and 14th 
verses of chapter 6. The next thing here before us 
is the departing of the heavens as a scroll and the 
scenes of the great day. 

7. The seventh seal is introduced in Rev. 8:1. 
The only event mentioned is silence in heaven about 
the space of half an hour ; and the only time brought 
to view in the Bible when this could be fulfilled, is 
that described in Matt. 25 : 31, when Christ appears 
and "all the holy angels" come with him. Then 
there can be silence in heaven ; and this event we 
understand to be the one to which the sixth seal is 
devoted. 

It will be noticed that the language of the first 
five seals is symbolical, that of the sixth and seventh 
literal. We can account for this change in the 
language only by supposing that the events of these 
seals being located at the time when the prophecy 
was to be understood and the doctrine of the second 
coming of Christ proclaimed, is for this reason given 
in literal and not symbolic language. 

Taken as a whole, these seals may be said to rep- 

49. What tribulation? 50. Between what points of time 
does this locate these signs? 51. Where do we stand in the 
fulfillment of the seals? 52. Where is the opening of the 
seventh seal described? 53. What is the event mentioned? 
54. When and by what means can this be fulfilled? 55. 
Why is there a change between the fifth and sixth seals, 



THE SEVEN SEALS. 209 

resent the great apostasy in the church. The first 
seal represents the apostolic church in its purity. 
The succeeding seals, the church in its apostasy. 
But the true church occasionally appears this side of 
the first seal. It is the oil and the wine of the third 
seal, the martyrs of the fourth and fifth seals ; and 
those who will be saved at the corning of Christ to 
which the last seal brings us. While the apostate 
church will be among those who will call for the 
rocks and mountains to fall on them, and hide them 
from His presence in the day of His wrath. 

from figurative language to literal? 56. How are the true 
and apostate churches brought to view in these seals \ 

14 




CHAPTER XXL 



The Seven Trumpets. 

The political events of this dispensation are prop- 
erly symbolized by trumpets, those long-used her- 
alds of war and revolution. A prophecy of great 
importance and interest, under the symbols of seven 
trumpets, is given in the 8th, 9th, and a part of the 
11th chapters of the Revelation. 

The record of the first trumpet begins with verse 
7 of chapter 8. These trumpets are the counterpart 
of the prophecy of the second chapter of Daniel. 
That prophecy brings to view the dividing of the 
Roman kingdom into ten parts, as represented by the 
ten toes of the great image ; and the first four of the 
seven trumpets embody the events by which this 
division was effected. 

1. The first trumpet represents hail and fire mingled 
with blood cast upon the earth. It was fulfilled by 
the invasion of the Roman empire by the Goths 
under Alaric, commencing A. D. 395. This invasion 
is represented by hail, from the fact that the invad- 
ers came from the frozen regions of the North. It is 

1. What do trumpets appropriately symbolize? 2. What 
period is covered by the seven trumpets of Revelation? 3. 
Where does the record of the first trumpet begin? 4. Of 
what are these trumpets the counterpart? 5. What do the 
first four trumpets introduce ? 6. How is the first trumpet 
[210] 



THE SEVEN TRUMPETS. 211 

further described as fire mingled with blood, because 
the course of the invaders was marked by slaughter 
and conflagration. 

2. The second trumpet brings us to a new location 
and another event. A great mountain burning with 
fire was cast into the sea. The next great invasion 
of the Roman empire, which shook it to its foundation 
and conduced to its fall, was that of the Yandals 
under Genseric. The base of his operations was at 
Carthage in Africa. The date of his career is marked 
by the years 428 to 468. His warfare was carried 
on by sea ; and his warfare against the Bom an 
empire was well symbolized by a great mountain 
burning with fire cast into the sea. He ravaged 
and devastated all those provinces of the Roman 
empire which lie upon the Mediterranean. 

The frequent reference to the third part, noticed 
in the trumpets, has allusion to the tripartite division 
of the empire. Twice it was divided into three parts 
before its permanent division into Eastern and West- 
ern Rome ; and when the third part is spoken of in 
this prophecy, it refers to that division in which the 
events of the trumpet under consideration were tak- 
ing place. 

3. The third trumpet brings to view another 

described? 7. By what was it fulfilled? 8. "When did it 
commence? 9. Why is it described as hail and fire mingled 
with blood? 10. What scene does the second trumpet bring- 
to view? 11. What was the second great invasion of the 
Roman empire? 12. What was the base of Genseric's oper- 
ations? 13. What figures mark the date of his career? 14 
Why was a burning mountain cast into the sea a fit symbol 
of his work? 15. What provinces did he ravage? 16. What 
is meant by the expression, "the third j:>art"? 17. What 
conqueror and what people fulfilled the events of the third 



212 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTHS 

invading chieftain, who, like a comet or a blazing 
star, flamed over the Roman world. It was Attila 
at the head of his warlike Huns. The name of this 
star is called " Wormwood," as describing the bitter 
consequences of this invasion and the terrors and 
miseries wrought by this war-like chief. 

This star fell upon the third part of the rivers and 
fountains of waters. The scene of Attila's operations 
was in the northern part of Italy, the region in 
which so many streams and rivers have their source. 
Attila styled himself " The scourge of God," and 
made his boast that the grass never grew where his 
horse had trod. 

4. The fourth trumpet is described in the 12th 
verse, and brings to view the blotting out of the 
third part of the sun, moon, and stars. These are 
undoubtedly here used as symbols representing the 
three highest sources of authority in the Roman 
empire ; namely, emperors, consuls, and senators ; 
and the only inference to be drawn from the phrase- 
ology of the text is that the abolition of these three 
offices is intended. We have now come to the time 
when the Western empire of Rome was extinguished. 
The date, as given by Gibbon, is 476 or 479. It was 
accomplished by Odoacer, who was succeeded by 
Theodoric, the Ostrogoth ; and the events of the 
trumpet were finally accomplished by Justinian. The 

trumpet? 18. Why is this star called Wormwood? 19. 
What was the scene of Attila's operations? 20. What did 
Attila style himself? 21. What was his boast? 22. What 
is brought to view under the fourth trumpet? 23. In what 
sense are the terms sun, moon, and stars here used? 24. 
What do they signify? 25. When was the Western empire 
extinguished? 26. Who were the agents in its accomplish: 



THE SEVEN TRUMPETS. 213" 

Imperial office, the sun, was extinguished by Odoacer. 
Justinian abolished the Consulship, the moon ; and 
Narses, the general of Justinian, extinguished the 
Senate, the stars. Thus in the third part of the 
Roman empire, the sun, moon, and stars were smit- 
ten, here represented as a third part of these lumi- 
naries. 

Another angel, not one of this series of seven, is 
now introduced, declaring that the three remaining 
trumpets will be trumpets of woe. 

Two of these trumpets, the 5th and 6th, occupy, 
in equal portions, the whole of the ninth chapter of 
Revelation. The prophet now turns from those 
agencies which were employed to scourge Rome, and 
break it up into political divisions, to those agencies 
which were employed to scourge it as an ecclesiastical 
power after its change from paganism to the papacy. 

5. The first 11 verses of Rev. 9 are used in 
describing the fifth trumpet. A star is first seen 
falling from heaven unto the earth. The star w; s 
Chosroes, the king of Persia. He was overthrown 
by Heraclius, the emperor of the East. His fall was 
the key by which the bottomless pit was opened. 
For Rome, in overthrowing Persia, utterly exhausted 
herself ; and thus the only two powers which were 
capable of meeting and crushing Mohammedanism, 
namely, Persia and Eastern Rome, were virtually 
taken out of the way by this revolution. The bot- 

ment? 27. What may be said of the angel of verse 13? 28. 
What chapter, and in what proportion, is occupied with the 
5th and 6th trumpets? 29. From what and to what does the 
prophet now turn? 30. Who was the star of verse 1 1 31. 
By whom was he overthrown? 32. What was his fall, and 
why? 33. Of what is the bottomless pit here a symbol? 34. 



214 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

tomless pit, symbolizing the wastes of the Arabian 
deserts, poured forth a great smoke, or the dark and 
delusive doctrines propagated by Mohammed and his 
fanatical followers. Chosroes, after his loss of em- 
pire, was murdered in the year 628 • and the year 
629 is marked by Mohammed's conquest of Arabia 
and the first war of the Moslems against the Roman 
empire. The locusts that came out of the smoke 
symbolized the Arabian horsemen, as they went forth 
to fight what they called the battles of the Lord. 

Their mission was to torment men five months, 
but not to kill them. Verses 5 and 10. This period 
is doubtless prophetic, denoting 150 years. If so, 
the question arises, From what point are these years 
to be dated ? The 11th verse gives us the key to 
the solution of the query. They had a king over 
them, whose name is given both in Hebrew and 
Greek as " the destroyer." The conclusion naturally 
follows that the five months of torment must have 
taken place under this Ottoman power after its con- 
solidation into a kingly government. Previous to 
the time of Othman, the Mohammedan power was 
composed of separate and distinct tribes. Under the 
policy of this man, they were consolidated into one 
government, with himself as king, although he never 
took the title of Sultan. This was near the close of 
the thirteenth century ; and that power has ever 
since been known as the Ottoman empire, after the 
name of Othman, its founder. 

What issued from that pit ? 35. When was Chosroes mur- 
dered? 36. What marks the year 629? 37. By what are 
the Arabian horsemen here symbolized 1 38. How long a 
period is denoted by the five months ? 39. From what point 
are they to be dated? 40. Why? 41. When did Othman found 
his government ? 42. When was his first assault made upon 



THE SEVEN TRUMPETS. 215 

The first invasion of Roman territory by Otliman 
took place on the 27th day of July, 1299. Com- 
mencing the five months' torment from this event, 
they "would end 150 years later, in 1449. As we 
inquire for the events which mark the termination 
of that period, we are brought to the sounding of 
the next trumpet. 

6. When the sixth angel sounded, a voice was 
heard, saying, Loose the four angels which are 
bound in the great river Euphrates. The river Eu- 
phrates must here be taken for a symbol of that 
kingdom of which it was the principal river, which 
was the Ottoman, or Turkish empire. The four an- 
gels are supposed to mean the four chief Sultanies 
of which that empire was composed. These were 
Iconium, Aleppo, Damascus, and Bagdad. They 
were "loosed;" that is to say, they were to have 
thereafter not simply the power of tormenting, but 
of destroying. This was accomplished by the fol- 
lowing events: — 

When the last emperor of the Greeks, John Pal- 
eologus, died, leaving no children, Constantine 
Deacozes succeeded to the empire; but he would not 
venture to ascend the throne without asking the 
consent of Amurath, the Turkish Sultan. Thus he 
virtually surrendered his power into Turkish hands. 
And this was in the very year when the 150 years 



the Eastern empire? 43. What was heard when the sixth 
angel sounded? 44. What does the river Euphrates here 
symbolize? 45. What are the four angels bound therein 
supposed to mean? 46. What were these four Sultanies? 
47. Name the events by which they were loosed so as to have 
thereafter the power to destroy 1 48. By whom was Amu- 
rath succeeded, and when? 49. What enterprise did he set 



216 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

of the preceding trumpet ended, namely, in 1449. 
Amurath was succeeded by Mohammed II. in 1451, 
who set his heart on "destroying," or making a 
complete conquest of, this division of the Roman 
empire, by taking its capital, the city of Constanti- 
nople. The siege commenced April 6, 1453, and 
the city was taken on the 16th of May following. 
The eastern seat of the Csesars thus became the seat 
of the Ottoman empire, and has so remained to this 
day. 

The principal subject for exposition under this 
trumpet is the prophetic period brought to view in 
verse 15. The angels were loosed for an hour, a 
day, a month, and a year. This, reduced from pro- 
phetic to literal time, gives us the following period: 
A year, 360 days, 360 years; a month, 30 days, 30 
years; a day, 1 year; an hour, a twenty -fourth 
part of a prophetic day, 15 literal days; making in 
all 391 years, and 15 days. This added to the date, 
July 27, 1449, where the 150 years of the previous 
trumpet ended, brings us to August 11, 1840. 

The means by which the Mohammedans achieved 
their wonderful conquests are described in verses 17 
and 18 as fire, and smoke, and brimstone; and it is 
a remarkable fact that in this revolution, gun-pow- 
der was first used as an implement of war. It thus 
appears that John, in A. D. 96, penned a prophecy of 
that notable invention which appeared as a new en- 
gine of destruction thirteen hundred years from his 

his heart on accomplishing? 50. When did the siege of 
Constantinople commence? 51. When and how did it end? 
52. What is the principal point to be explained under this 
trumpet? 53. How long a period of time is brought to view? 
54. Where did this period end? 55. By what means did the 
Turks achieve their conquest? 56. What event would be 



THE SEVEN TRUMPETS. 217 

time, and has revolutionized the mode o£ warfare 
throughout the civilized world. 

As the prophetic period of this trumpet com- 
menced by the voluntary surrender of power into 
the hands of the Turks by the Christian emperor of 
the East, so we might justly conclude that its 
termination would be marked by the voluntary sur- 
render of that power by the Turkish Sultan back 
again into the hands of the Christians. In 1838 
Turkey became involved in war with Egypt. The 
Egyptians bid fair to overthrow the Turkish power. 
To prevent this, the four great powers of Europe, 
England, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, interfered to 
sustain the Turkish government. Turkey accepted 
their intervention. A conference was held in Lon- 
don at which an ultimatum was drawn up to be 
presented to Mehemet Ali, the Pacha of Egypt. It 
is evident that when this ultimatum should be 
placed in the hands of Mehemet, the destiny of the 
Ottoman empire would be virtually lodged in the 
hands of the Christian powers of Europe. This ul- 
timatum was placed in the hands of Mehemet on 
the 11th day of August, 1840 ! and on that very 
day the Sultan addressed a note to the ambassadors 
of the four powers, inquiring what should be done 
in case Mehemet refused to comply with the terms 
which they had proposed. The answer was that he 
need not alarm himself about any contingency that 
might arise; for they had made provision for that. 
The prophetic period ended, and on that very day 
the control of Mohammedan affairs passed into the 
hands of Christians, just as the control of Christian 

expected to mark the termination of the 391 years and 15 
days? 57. What event did take place on the day when this 
period ended, and what led to it? 58. Where is the series 



218 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

affairs had passed into the hands of the Mohamme- 
dans 391 years and 15 days before. Thus the sec- 
ond woe ended, and the sixth trumpet ceased its 
soundinc-. 

o 

Passing over the 10th and a portion of the 11th 
chapters of Revelation, the series of trumpets is 
again taken up in verse 14 of chapter 11. The 
events of this trumpet are described in the five fol- 
lowing verses. They are such as to show that this 
trumpet witnesses the conclusion of all earthly king- 
doms and the beginning of the everlasting reign of 
Christ. Among the events introduced is the open- 
ing of the temple of God in heaven. Verse 19. 
This was the commencement of the work of cleans- 
ing the sanctuary, as explained in the exposition of 
that subject, — a work which constitutes the finish- 
ing of the mystery of God spoken of in Rev. 10:7, 
and marks the beginning of the sounding of the 
seventh trumpet. It is therefore evident that the 
seventh an gel began to sound in the autumn of 
1844; and the little space termed " quickly," which 
was to intervene between the second and third 
woes, reached from August 11, 1840, where the 
sixth trumpet ceased to sound, to the autumn of 
1844. where the seventh commenced. The 18th 
verse of Rev. 11 shows that this trumpet covers the 
concluding troubles of the last days, and reaches 
over to the destruction of the wicked at the end of 
the thousand years of Revelation 20. 

of trumpets resumed? 59. What is shown by the events 
brought to view under it? 60. "What event is specially noted 
among others? 61. What was this? 62. How is it spoken 
of in Revelation 10? 63. What does it there mark? 64. 
When, therefore, did the 7th trumpet begin to sound? 65. 
What space is covered by the term " quickly"? 66. What 
does this trumpet cover? 



CHAPTER XXII. 



The Signs of the Times. 

1. A SIGN is defined to be "that by which any- 
thing is made known or represented; that which 
furnishes evidence; a mark; a token; an indica- 
tion; a proof ; hence, specifically, (a.) A remarkable 
event considered by the ancients as indicating the 
will of some deity; a prodigy; an omen. (6.) An 
event considered by the Jews as indicating the di- 
vine will, or as manifesting an interposition of the 
divine power for some special end." — Webster. 

2. A sign " of the times " must therefore be some 
event which indicates that we have reached a cer- 
tain period in the world's history made important 
by events then transpiring or next to transpire in 
chronological order. But neither the time nor the 
events would or could be recognized by the 'world 
unless some prophecy had been given showing what 
events would stand as signs, and setting forth the 
nature of the time marked by them. The whole 
matter, therefore, rests on the declarations of proph- 
ecy; and every sign is a fulfillment of prophecy. 

3. But prophecy is given for a specific purpose. 
It has reference mainly to the fact that human his- 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER TWENTY- TWO. 

1. What is a sign? 2. "What is a sign of the times? 3. 
How are we enabled to recognize the signs? 4. What does 
every sign fulfill? 5. For what purpose is prophecy given? 

(219) 



220 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

tory is at some time to come to an end, and human 
kingdoms to be succeeded by the kingdom of God. 
It is that which constitutes the Scriptures ' • a lamp 
to our feet and a light to our path," that path that 
spans the period of human probation from its earli- 
est dawn to its setting sun. It is given to show 
where the world is in reference to the initial and 
terminal points of its history, — how much is past 
and how much is to come, — that men may under- 
stand when the great day of all days, the day of the 
Lord, and the coronation of the King of kings is at 
hand. Therefore the primal object of every sign is 
to show the coming of that day when the kingdoms 
of this world shall become the kingdom of our Lord 
and of his Christ. 

4. As here indicated, the subject of the signs of 
the times is an exceeding broad one. It covers the 
whole field of prophecy. Indeed, every fulfillment 
of prophecy is a sign of the times. The rise and fall 
of the four kingdoms of Dan. 2 and 7, the ten king- 
doms of "Western Rome, the little horn, the papal 
power, the termination of every prophetic period, 
the seven trumpets, the drying up of the Turkish 
power, symbolized by the great river Euphrates, the 
rise and progress of our own country, are all signs 
of the times. And through all these we can say of 
a surety that the signs indicate that the great day 
of the Lord is at hand. But we designed to speak 
more particularly of another class of signs consisting 

6. What makes the Scriptures a lamp to our feet? 7. What 
is the relation of prophecy to history? 8. What is, there- 
fore, the primal object of every sign? 9. What prophecies 
may be mentioned as signs % 10. What signs in the solar 
system were predicted ? 11. What Scriptures refer to these ? 



THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 221 

chiefly of startling and striking events, commencing 
with — 

5. Signs in the sun, moon, and stars. "There 
shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in 
the stars." Luke 21:25. Other scriptures tell us 
of what, in these cases, the signs should consist; 
namely, the sun and moon should not give their 
light, and the stars should fall from heaven. See 
Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24,25; Joel 2:31; Rev. 
6: 12. It is natural that we should look for events 
of this nature to mark the approach of that aw- 
ful hour which shall fix the eternal destiny of 
every member of the human family. Said Mar r 
tin Luther, " A something strikingly awful shall 
forewarn that the world shall come to an end, and 
that the last day is even at the door." 

The sun was darkened May 19, 1780, the moon 
the following night; and the stars of heaven fell 
Nov. 13, 1833. But, says the objector, there have 
been other darkenings of the sun ; hence that can- 
not be a sign. Wait a moment. Prophecy not only 
points out the sign, but also the time when it should 
take place. Mark's record says, "In those days, 
after that tribulation." " Those days" refer to the 
days of papal supremacy, which terminated in 1798. 
The " tribulation " refers to the oppression of the 
church by the papacy, which was not so restrained 
as to fulfill the prophecy till after the middle of 
the eighteenth century. Somewhere, then, between 
the years 1750 and 1798 we look for this sign. 



12. What did Martin Luther say respecting these 1 13. When 
was the sun darkened? 14. When was the sign in the moon 
fulfilled? 15. When did the stars fall? 16. What objec- 
tion is here raised? 17. How is it answered? 18. Of what 



222 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

But we are allowed to be a little more definite. 
The signs now under examination are a part of the 
events of the sixth seal of Rev. 6, and follow the 
great earthquake which marked the opening of that 
seal. That earthquake was the great earthquake 
of Lisbon, Nov. 1, 1755. Between this year and 
1798 were forty-three years. Somewhere in this 
brief space we look for the sign in the sun. Was 
there in this time any other darkening of the sun 
except that of May 19, 1780?— None. Was there 
ever so notable an event of this kind, either in ex- 
tent or intensity? — Never. Then that was the sign. 
To deny it is to be willfully ignorant. 

Some have attempted to account for it on the 
ground that high winds brought up heavy clouds 
that obscured the sun; but an eye-witness, Milo 
Bostwick, writing from Camden, N. J., March 3, 
1848, says, "There were not any clouds, but the 
air was thick," etc. ; and another eye-witness, Mrs. 
Abigail Bailey, of Vermont, says: "No distinct 
cloud was visible. There was no motion of the air 
sufficient to move a leaf, and darkness overshad- 
owed the earth." The Concord (N. H.) People 
speaks of it as "not the blackness of the storm 
cloud," but " the silent spreading of the pall-cloth 
over the earth by strong, invisible hands." The in- 
quiry was upon many lips, " Is the Judgment day 

prophecy in the Bevelation are these signs a part? 19. 
How and when was the opening of the sixth seal indicated? 
20. How many years from this point to 1798? 21. Where, 
then, do we look for the sign in the sun? 22. What was the 
only darkening in this time? 23. How do some attempt 1o 
explain it? 24. What is M. Bostwick's testimony 1 ? 25. 
What does Mrs. A. Bailey testify? 26. How does the Con- 
cord People speak of it? 27. What inquiry sprung to many 



THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 223 

approaching? " The poet Whittier writes concern- 
ing it: " All ears grew sharp to hear the doom-blast 
of the trumpet shatter the black sky." No one has 
ever been able to account for this phenomenon on 
natural principles. Webster's Dictionary (1870) 
says: " The true cause of this remarkable phenom- 
enon is not known." It falls within the realm of 
the supernatural, and thus stands as a solemn sign 
hung out in the heavens to notify the world that 
God had not forgotten his promise, but was about 
to send Jesus to gather his people to himself, and de- 
stroy those who would not have him to reign over 
them. 

The moon was darkened the following night. 
The same cause which obscured the light of the sun 
would have the same effect upon the light of the 
moon. The moon fulled that night; but a portion 
of the time it gave no light. The darkness of the 
night is described by some as the deepest ever wit- 
nessed "since the Almighty fiat gave birth to 
light." It was only equaled, possibly, by that 
Egyptian darkness in the days of Moses, which 
could be felt. Ex. 10:21. And when the moon 
did finally show itself, it bore the appearance de- 
scribed in Rev. 6:12. 

The prediction of the falling stars was fulfilled in 
the great meteoric shower of Nov. 13, 1833, which 
covered no inconsiderable portion of the earth's sur- 
face. Signor Schiaparelli {Christian Union, May 
1, 1872) received of the British Royal Astronomical 

lips? 28. What does "Webster say concerning the cause of 
this sign ? 29. What was the phase of the moon on the fol- 
lowing night? 30. How is the darkness described? 31. 
How extensive was the star shower of Nov. 13, 1833? 32. 



224 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

Society in February, 1872, a gold medal " for his 
researches upon the nature and orbits of meteors, 
which have helped to demonstrate that these bodies 
belong to the stellar region, and are, in fact, falling 
stars." The Connecticut Observer of Nov. 25, 1833, 
copied from the Old Countryman as follows ; — ■ 

" We pronounce the raining of fire, which we saw 
on Wednesday morning last, an awful type, a sure 
forerunner, a merciful sign, of that great and dread- 
ful day . . . described not only in the New 
Testament but in the Old. A more correct picture 
of a fig-tree casting its leaves when blown by a 
mighty wind, it is not possible to behold." 

6. In answer to the question put by the disciples 
to our Saviour, " What .shall be the sign of thy 
coming and of the end of the world?" he incidentally, 
before coming to the definite answer, makes this 
declaration: ''There shall be famines and pesti- 
lences and earthquakes in divers places." 

While such visitations would not particularly in- 
dicate the nearness of the end, their abnormal occur- 
rence in this dispensation has a bearing upon our 
subject by demonstrating the truthfulness of Christ's 
words. Moreover, we are left free to infer, from the 
connection in which they are spoken, that such 
events would increase in frequency and virulence as 
we draw near the end, and thus become indirect 
heralds of the coming of the King. 

From accessible records it would appear that 
events of this kind have been excessive since the 

What may these meteors properly be called? 33. What did 
the Old Countryman say concerning it \ 34. What does 
Christ say of famines, pestilences, etc. ? 35. What bearing 
have these upon the subject of the prophecy 1 36. What 



THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 225 

words of Christ quoted above were spoken. Thus 
in a work by Noah Webster, published in 1779, it is 
shown that between the years A. D. 96 and 1755 
twenty-four million and thirteen thousand human 
beings perished by earthquake, famine, and pesti- 
lence, besides a destruction of one-third of the hu- 
man race by three months of earthquakes and pes- 
tilence in the year 1005. The enumeration above 
named gives us an average of nearly a million and 
a half of deaths annually. If any other equal 
period of the world's history can show such a death 
rate from these agencies, we have yet to see the 
record of it. 

The regular numerical increase of earthquakes as 
the centuries have gone by, is something very re- 
markable. Eld. D. T. Taylor, in his " Coming 
Earthquake," quotes a table from Ponton and Mal- 
lett, giving the number of recorded earthquakes 
from 1700 B. c. to 1868 A. D., arranged in six 
periods as follows: — 





No. 


Years. 


Average. 


Those recorded before a. d. J, 


58 


1700 


1 in 29 years. 


Thence to the end of 9th century, 


197 


800 


1 " 4 " 


.i 15th 


532 


600 


1 " 1 year. 


11 18th 


2804 


300 


9 " 1 " 


" 1850 


3240 


50 


64 " 1 " 


" 1860 


5000 


18 


277 ,! 1 il 



Of such earthquakes as have overthrown cities, 
and destroyed many lives, the record runs about as 
follows : — 







No. 


Tears. 


Average. 


From b. c. 1700 to A. d. 


16 


1796 


1 in 112 years. 


" A. D. 96 " 


1850 


204 


1754 


x i, g „ 


1850 " 


1865 


15 


15 


1 vt 1 year. 


1865 " 


1868 


15 


3 


5 " 1 " 



general fact appears in history concerning them 1 37. What 
may be said of the increase of earthquakes ? 38. What is 

15 



226 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

"In the single year 1868 over 100,000 persons 
perished by earthquakes. In January, 1869, there 
were eleven earthquakes, two of them great and 
destructive." 

7. The prophet Joel (2 : 30), quoted by Peter 
(Acts 2:19), predicted " wonders in the heavens and 
in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke," 
" before the great and the terrible day of the Lord 
come." Again the response of history is, Fulfilled. 
The only difficulty is to give in small space an ade- 
quate idea of the many wonderful occurrences within 
the past fifty years. Sights have been witnessed 
which the papers have described in terms, a sum- 
mary of which would read something like the fol- 
lowing : ' ' Extraordinary — singular — alarming — 
intense brightness — terrific fire — dark crimson vapor 
— most gorgeous — tremendous conflagration — vol- 
umes of smoke," etc. A work called "Modern 
Phenomena of the Heavens," by H. Jones, describes 
a scene Jan. 25, 1837, when "the very heavens 
seemed to be on fire." "The snow resembled blood 
and fire." "In one place near a mountain the peo- 
ple informed me that on the snow there was the ap- 
pearance of 'waves of fire rolling down the mount- 
ain.' " 

8. The Aurora Borealis. This wonderful phe- 
nomenon has greatly increased within the last few 
years. The effect of its appearance in both Eu- 
rope and America has been to fill the people with 
great alarm. It is looked upon as the precursor 



Joel's prediction? 39. How has it been fulfilled? 40. What 
may be said of the Aurora Borealis ? 41. What prediction 



THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 227 

of the Judgment fires which are to consume the 
world. 

9. The sea and the waves roaring. Luke 21 : 25. 
The great tidal waves are peculiar to this last half 
of the nineteenth century. Harper's Magazine for 
1869 says: " That most horrible phenomenon, the 
tidal wave, how many struggling mortals has it 
swept back into the deep! What countless ships 
has it crushed against the shores! What mighty 
cities has it plundered of life and wealth, strewing 
their streets with ocean sand, and peopling their pal- 
aces with sea monsters! " Our readers will remem- 
ber the awful catastrophes at Lima and Arica, Peru. 
The N. Y. Tribune of Nov. 12, 1868, said:— 

" The tidal disturbances are the most remarkable 
and extensive of which there is any record. It is 
said that their velocity is about a thousand miles an 
hour. Both the great ocean waters of the Atlantic 
and Pacific have been agitated in their whole ex- 
tent. We mention in particular the tidal waves at 
St. Thomas and all the neighboring islands, which 
were full fifty feet in hight. . . . It is said 
by those who have witnessed these waves that the 
ocean's roar is exceedingly frightful." 

Under this head would also come the long and 
rapidly augmenting list of ocean disasters. These 
will be sufficiently indicated by the fact that be- 
tween the years 1865 and 1875, the United States 
marine suffered the loss of 2,821 vessels, valued at 
$129, 067,700. During the one year 1870, the losses 
throughout the world were 1,887 vessels. 

have we concerning the sea and waves 1 42. How has it 
been fulfilled ? 43. "What other events would come under 
this head 1 44. Name some statistics. 45. What land dis- 



228 synopsis or the present truth. 

Corresponding to these disturbances on the ocean, 
are the tornadoes, cloud-bursts, and cyclones on the 
land, which have of late reached such frequency and 
destructiveness. And to these may be added the 
great fires, which are acknowledged to be entirely 
phenomenal. The reader will at once recall Chicago, 
Peshtigo, Manistee, White Rock, and many towns 
on Lakes Michigan and Huron. The " air seemed 
to be on fire. Great sheets of flame enveloped them 
like a cloud, and moved with the rapidity of a hur- 
ricane." Clouds of fire seemed to burst and scatter 
death around. Balls of fire were seen revolving and 
bursting in every direction. Many thought the last 
day had come, and perished without being unde- 
ceived. And now, as if in mocking contrast, come 
the unparalleled floods of to-day, floods in Europe 
and floods in America, swallowing thousands in a 
watery grave, driving other thousands from their 
homes, and sweeping away millions of property. 

10. In the last days there was to be a great man- 
ifestation of covetousness, and vast accumulations of 
wealth by the rich. Jas. 5 : 1-5. The Religious 
Intelligencer of Jan. 26, 1883, says: ''Fifteen 
Americans are said to own $920,000,000," the high- 
est on the list being W. H. Vanderbilt, with $260, 
000,000. H. W. Beecher says: " The development 
of wealth is now greater in amount, greater in scope, 
and greater in extent, than ever before." No one 
can dispute this; hence no one can deny the fulfill- 
ment of the prophecy. 

turbances correspond to these ? 46. What may be said of 
the recent great fires 1 47. What of subsequent floods ? 48. 
What was to mark the last days pecuniarily 1 49. What 
does the Religious Intelligencer say i 50. What is H. W. 
Beecher's testimony? 51. What was to be the political 



THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 229 

11. The political condition of the world. " Wars 
and rumors of wars," says one prophecy. Matt. 24: 
6. "The nations were angry," says another, when 
the seventh trumpet began to sound. Rev. 11:18. 
Europe is a vast arsenal. Working men are taxed 
to the last extremity to support enormous standing- 
armies. The people feel that they are treading 
upon a mine, the control of which rests with a few 
men whose purposes they cannot fathom. Yet with 
all this preparation for war, all this suspicion and 
jealousy, all the mutterings and threatening^, peace 
still in general continues; for another prophecy says 
'that the winds of strife must be held till the servants 
of God are sealed. 

12. The moral condition of the religious world. 
The outlook in this direction shows one of the most 
striking of signs. In many prophecies the con- 
dition of religionists in the last days is described. 
A great declension in spiritual power was predicted. 
They would love pleasure more than they would love 
God. They would harbor in their hearts and in their 
communion the grossest sins, yet cling tenaciously 
to a form of godliness. Where do we look for pride, 
display, extravagance, and carnal amusements in 
the greatest excess, but to the religious world? Be- 
tween them and the non-professing world, the line 
is entirely lost. 

13. The last great deception which^was to go forth 
to ensnare those who reject the truth and have 



condition of the world ? 52. In what do we see a *fulnll- 
ment 1 53. What does the world's moral outlook present? 
54. Where are pride extravagance and the grossest sins to 
be found 1 55. What last great deception was to appear ? 



230 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

pleasure in unrighteousness, just "before the Lord ap- 
pears, has for many years been abroad in the land. 
Its name is spiritualism. It is in its preliminary 
stages of development among all nations. With its 
abolition of all spiritual restraint, its denial of all 
distinction between right and wrong, and of all 
moral responsibility, with its pleasing fables and 
license to sin, it promises full play to man's lower 
nature here, and yet the possession of all good here- 
after. Thus it finds willing votaries among those 
who will not put off the carnal mind, who shun the 
cross and despise the truth. It is now specially en- 
gaged in arraying itself in Christian garbs, when it 
will find easy conquests among the religionists de- 
scribed above. It is to show greater wonders than 
have yet appeared ; and in the hight of its working, 
Christ will appear. 2 Thess. 2: 9-11. 

14. The last message of mercy and warning which 
is to go to the world before the Lord returns, has 
also been for many years in the land. Rev. 14: 9- 
12. It is going by land and by sea, at home and 
abroad. More than two hundred and fifty million 
pages of its truths have already gone forth on their 
mission. It is all equipped for the accomplishment 
of a mighty work in a brief space of time. It is 
daily growing in strength. Its loud cry is the close 
of probation; and as it finishes its testimony, one 
like the Son of man appears upon the great white 
cloud, coming to reap the harvest of the earth. 
Rev. 14:14. 



56. What is its present phase ? 57. In what is it now spe- 
cially arraying itself ? 58. What is to be its future? 59. 
What true religious movement is set down for the last days ? 



THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 231 

Where, then, are the signs of promise? Rather, 
where are they not? Heaven and earth are full of 
them. The last nation that is to go down as Christ 
takes his throne, is sinking rapidly to its dissolution. 
The last that are to take part in earth's closing 
scenes, are hastening to their final acts. The last 
influences for both good and evil are moving swiftly 
forward to the culmination of their work. Not one 
sign is wanting. God's word can never fail. The 
day of the Lord is at hand. 

60. What is its present stage of development ? 



5 _u 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



Spiritualism. 

In the latter part of the month of March, 1848, 
the papers in Rochester, N. Y., came out one morn- 
ing with sensational headings about certain myste- 
rious noises and knockings which had been heard in 
the house of Mr. John D. Fox, in the village of 
Hydesville, near that city. At one bound the 
whole region round about rose to the highest pitch 
of excitement, and committees of investigation were 
appointed, who earnestly set about the work of try- 
ing to ascertain the source from which the raps pro- 
ceeded. It was soon ascertained that there was 
some intelligence behind the manifestations; that 
certain questions would be answered, certain letters 
of the alphabet indicated, spelling out words, and 
thus imparting information. It was also ascer- 
tained that certain ones were particularly successful 
in calling forth these responses. 

The communicating intelligences proclaimed them- 
selves the spirits of departed human "beings; and 
the movement was therefore named Spiritualism. 
Those to whom responses from the unseen world 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE. 

1. What happened in March, 1848? 2. What was the 
effect? 3. What was soon ascertained? 4. What did the 
communicating intelligences proclaim themselves? 5. What 
(232) 



SPIEITUALISM. 233 

were vouchsafed, were called mediums. The agen- 
cies, spirits and mediums, through which a new 
revelation was to be given to the world, were now 
recognized. A sluice was opened through which a 
flood of teaching, whatever it might be, could be 
poured upon the community. 

The movement spread like flame in the stubble. 
The teaching was named a new philosophy. The 
intelligences behind the curtain declared their object 
to be, to convince the world of the immortality of 
the soul. Multitudes offered to be the vehicles by 
which intelligence might be brought from the un- 
seen world. Lecturers took the field to advocate 
and defend the system; and papers sprung up to 
work in its behalf. So marvelous was its progress, 
that, in only twenty-eight years from the time it 
first attracted the attention of the world through 
the so-called " Rochester knockings," its adherents 
numbered, according to the estimates of its friends, 
from five to eight millions; according to those of its 
enemies, from three to eleven millions. 

The phenomena attending the movement were 
marvelous. It showed itself from the beginning a 
wonder-working power. That there has been in 
these later years a great amount of fraud, jugglery, 
and deception practiced in its name, we do not 
deny. But there is, notwithstanding, abundant 
evidence to show that real spiritualism possesses a 
supernatural power, accomplishing wonders beyond 



was the movement called? 6. What name was given to the 
human agents? 7. What was now attained? 8. How did 
the movement spread? 9. What was the avowed object of 
spiritualism? 10. How many adherents did it gain in 28 
years? 11. What phenomena attended the movement? 



234 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

the range of human possibilities. Men of philosophy 
and culture, after the most careful and scrutinizing 
investigations, have been compelled to admit that 
various articles, some of them too heavy for any one 
man to lift, have been transported from place to 
place by spirit power alone ; that beautiful music 
has been produced independently of human agency, 
with and without the aid of visible instruments; 
that many cases of healing have been presented; 
that persons have been carried through the air by 
spirits alone, in the presence of many other persons ; 
that tables have been suspended in the air with sev- 
eral persons upon them ; and finally, that the spirits 
have produced many well-authenticated cases of 
what is called "materialization," presenting them- 
selves in bodily form, and talking with an audible 
voice. 

Professor Zollner, the great German philosopher, 
a man whose name is ranked with the highest in the 
scientific world, conducted a long series of careful and 
conclusive experiments to test the question whether 
or not spirit power was involved in the manifesta- 
tions. In a personal interview with Joseph Cook, 
during the late visit of the latter to Europe, Prof. 
Z. testified that the following strange occurrences 
had taken place under his own eye, by some power 
not human, or if human, not heretofore discovered : 
1. Knots were tied in cords without moving the 
ends of said cords; 2. Messages were written be- 
tween doubly and trebly sealed slates; 3. Coin 
passed through a table in a manner to illustrate the 
suspension of the laws of the impenetrability of 

12. Specify some of its achievements. 13. What is Prof. 
Zollner's testimony? 14. What is the natural effect of such 



SPIRITUALISM. 235 

matter; 4. Straps of leather were knotted under 
Prof. Zollner's own hands; 5. The impression of 
two feet was given on sooted paper pasted inside 
two sealed slates ; 6. Whole and uninjured wooden 
rings were placed around the standard of a card 
table, over either end of which they could by no 
possibility be slipped; and 7. Finally the table 
itself, a heavy beechen structure, wholly disap- 
peared, and then fell down from the top of the room 
in which Prof. Z. and his friends were sitting. 

Such wonders are calculated to make a profound 
impression upon the mind ; and it is not strange that 
a movement in the interest of which they claim to 
be wrought, should make marvelous progress among 
men. A writer in the Spiritual Clarion has given 
us this description of its introduction, power, and 
progress : — 

" This revelation has been with a power and a 
might, that, if divested of its almost universal be- 
nevolence, had been a terror to the very soul; the 
hair of the bravest had stood on end, and his chilled 
blood had crept back upon his heart at the sights 
and sounds of its inexplicable phenomena. It comes 
with foretokening, with warning. It has been from 
the very first its own best prophet, and step by step 
it has foretold the progress it would make. It 
comes, too, most triumphant. No faith before it 
ever took so victorious a stand in its infancy. It 
has swept like a hurricane of fire through the land, 
compelling faith from the baffled scoffer and the 
most determined doubter." 

Notwithstanding these protestations of innocence 

phenomena? 15. How does a writer in the Spiritual Clar- 



236 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

and benevolence, this movement, if viewed in its 
true light, might well be a terror to the soul, and 
chill the blood of the bravest, if not protected by 
the shield and buckler of truth from its unhallowed 
influence; for the whole development is from be- 
neath, not from above ; it is the work of the prince 
of darkness; its ultimate object is the ruin of souls; 
its apparent goodness is but a garb to cover its real 
character; its piety is a pretense, and its benevo- 
lence but a bait to lure the more into its snare. All 
this will clearly appear from an investigation of its 
character. 

1. The Scriptures plainly inform us that the 
dead, after going into the grave, have no knowl- 
edge nor any part in anything that is done under 
the sun ; that their thoughts are perished, and their 
love and hatred, and every emotion of the mind, 
have ceased to be ; and that they remain in this un- 
conscious condition, not awaking out of their sleep, 
till the second coming of Christ, when the heavens 
shall depart as a scroll, and those who are prepared 
for a part in the first resurrection shall rise out of 
their graves. Eccl. 9:5, 6, 10; Ps. 146:4; Job 14: 
12; Rev. 6:14-17; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; etc. But 
the very first claim put forth by these communicat- 
ing intelligences was that they were the spirits of 
the dead ; and in that claim they still persist. But 
that is a lie; for there are no such spirits in a con- 
dition thus to communicate. And this, to him who 
will be guided by the Scriptures, reveals at once 
both the unseen agents and their character ; for we 

ion describe it 1 16. What is its true character? 17. What 
do the Scriptures teach us respecting the dead 1 18. What 
is Spiritualism's first claim 1 19. What does this determine 



SPIRITUALISM. 237 

are told of spiritual beings which have to do with 
the human family, — the angels, of which there are 
two classes, the fallen and the unfallen, the evil and 
the good. But these spirits cannot be the good angels ; 
for good angels do not lie ; they must be evil angels, 
who have been deceivers from the beginning. And 
more than this, a prophecy respecting the last days 
points out a series of wonders to be wrought by this 
very agency. The nations are to be gathered to the 
battle of the great day of God Almighty by " spirits 
of devhV' working miracles (Rev. 16:14); and 
when Christ appears, it is to be when Satan has 
reached the very climax of a new development of 
his wonder-working powers. 2 Thess. 2:8-12. 

2. Spiritualists do not deny that their communi- 
cations with so-called departed spirits are what is 
termed in the Bible, " enchantment," "sorcery," 
"necromancy," "divination," "consulting with fa- 
miliar spirits," etc. Webster defines "necromancy" 
to mean, " The art of revealing future events by 
means of a pretended communication with the dead ; 
the art of magic; conjuration; enchantment." But 
every reader of the Bible knows that all these prac- 
tices are denounced as "abominations," and are 
strictly forbidden in both the Old and New Testa- 
ments. See Deut. 18:9-12; Lev. 19:31; 2 Kings 
21:2, 6, 9, 11; Rev. 21:8; Gal. 5:19-21; Acts 
16:16-18. Gesenius describes "sorcerers" as "those 



as to its character? 20. "What spiritual beings does the 
Bible inform us of? 21. Are the agents of spiritualism 
good or evil, and why? 22. What last-day prophecy speaks of 
this movement 1 23. What do spiritualists admit their work 
is called in the Bible? 24. What is Webster's definition of 
necromancy? 25. How does the Bible speak of these 



238 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

who profess to call up the dead ; " and Webster says 
that "a familiar spirit is a demon, or evil spirit, sup- 
posed to attend at a call." Those who embrace 
spiritualism are therefore obliged to give up the 
Bible. And such is invariably found to be true in 
its practical working. 

3. They deny the existence of God, and blaspheme 
his name. We will not pain the ear of piety by 
quoting their fearful language, abundance of which 
might be given. An admission of the fact by one 
of their own number will be sufficient on this point. 
Joel Tiffany, a spiritualist lecturer and publisher, in 
his Monthly of June, 1858, said: "My experience 
has been, go among spiritualists where you will, and 
as a general thing they have no faith in a living, 
conscious, intelligent Deity." 

4. They deny Christ, declaring that any just and 
perfect being is Christ; that the story of the first 
advent is a fabulous tale, that the crucifixion of 
Christ is only the crucifixion of the spirit, and that 
all the second advent of Christ there is to be is the 
advent of spiritualism, as we now behold it. 

5. They deny all distinction between right and 
wrong. A. B. Chilcls says ( ' 'Better Views of Living, " 
pp. 28, 29, 128), "The divine use of the ten com- 
mandments is in their violation, not in their observ- 
ance." J. S. Loveland, once a Methodist minister, 
declares, in the Banner of Light, that "with God 



things? 26. What, according to Gesenius, is a sorcerer? 
27. How does Webster define a "familiar spirit"? 28. 
How, then, must a spiritualist regard the Bible? 29. 
How do they regard God? 30. Hoav do they treat Christ? 
31. What distinction do they make between right and 
wrong? 32. Where do they place man? 33. How do they 



-SPIRITUALISM. 239 

there is no crime; " that " he is in the darkest crime 
and the highest holiness, and equally pleased with 
both." 

6. They deify mortal man. In a spiritualist work, 
" The Educator," we read: " Man is God's embodi- 
ment — his highest, divinest outer elaboration. God, 
then, is man, and man is God." Satan's first lie to 
man was that he should be as God. No wonder he 
now tries to build up a reputation for veracity by 
making them believe that they are gods. Edmunds 
(Spiritualism, vol. 1, p. 10) says: "The soul is a god 
of itself." 

7. They are at war with marriage. One of the 
notorious tendencies of spiritualism is to separate 
husbands and wives, and plunge them all into the 
maelstrom of free love. It takes every moral re- 
straint from man, as regards either heaven or earth, 
and gives the freest rein to his most debasing pas- 
sions. The author of " Spiritualism as It Is," pp. 
10, 11, 20, says: "After years of careful investiga- 
tion, we are compelled, much against our inclina- 
tion, to admit that more than one-half of our travel- 
ing media, speakers, and prominent spiritualists are 
guilty of immoral and licentious practices that have 
justly provoked the abhorrence of all right-thinking 
people." 

8. They acknowledge the devil as their God and 
Father, and pray to him. In the Banner of Light 
of Nov. 4, 1865, is published the following: — " Ques- 
tion: Do you know of any such spirit as a person 
we call the devil? — Answer: We certainly do. And 
yet this same devil is our God, our Father." This 

treat marriage ? 34. How do they recogniz'e the devil ? 35. 



240 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

was given through the celebrated medium, Mrs. 
Conant. Miss Lizzie Doten, a celebrated trance lect- 
urer, addressed a formal prayer to "Lucifer" who 
"fell from his high estate, and whom mortals are 
prone to call the embodiment of evil." An "Invo- 
cation," found in the Banner of Light of April 18, 
1871, opens in substantially the same manner. 

9. The Bible> speaks of them as " seducing spirits,'' 
" deceivers," '■* speaking lies in hypocrisy," and work- 
ing wonders to prove a lie. 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 
3:13; 2 Thess. 2:9, 10. Judge Edmunds (Broad- 
way Tabernacle Lecture, Feb. 16, 1855) said: — 

" I assure you from my own experience and ob- 
servation that the fascination of this intercourse is 
so great that its tendency is to lead men away from 
their proper j udgment, and instill a spirit of fanati- 
cism most revolting to the calm and natural mind." 

Spiritual Telegraph, July 11, 1857: "Spirits 
unquestionably can, and often do, personate other 
spirits, and that, too, often with such perfection as 
for the time being to defy every effort to detect the 
deceot'bon 

Dr. Child (Banner of Light, Oct. 6, 1864): " They 
will deceive us for their amusement." 

10. It is impossible to identify the spirits. They 
perform their work by mesmeric power, causing the 
medium to see such images as they please. A. J. 
Davis (Herald of Progress, Feb. 1, 1862) says: 
"They can psychologize a medium to see them in 
the style to produce the deepest impression on the 
receiver. They can easily represent themselves as 

What does the Bible say of the deceptive character of the 
spirits? 36. What do spiritualists admit on this point ? 37. 



SPIRITUALISM. 241 

being old or young," etc. A person who will yield 
himself to the control of r.uch spirits must be very 
anxious to be deceived. 

11. Of late years this movement is assuming a 
new phase. It is carefully concealing from public 
view its grosser features under the garb of Chris- 
tianity. It can talk of sin, Christ, the atonement, 
and even of future punishment. In this more re- 
spectable attire, spiritualism well-nigh obliterates all 
marks of distinction between itself and the greater 
part of the professedly religious world; for the 
great majority in all the churches believe in its fun- 
damental principles, — the conscious state of the dead, 
and their power to act as guardian spirits of the 
living. Spiritualism only insists upon more frequent 
and open intercourse, which the bereaved, made 
most susceptible- in their tender grief to every offer 
of comfort, are only too glad to receive on any 
plausible evidence that it is from their departed 
friends. Virtually, the greater part of the religious 
world to-day are spiritualists after the new order. 

12. Spiritualism is one of the great crowning- 
signs of the last days. It is the fulfillment of Matt. 
24 : 11, which declares that, just before the end, 
"many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive 
many." Its mediums and ministers are the "false 
christs and false prophets" that should arise and 
"show great signs and wonders," insomuch that if 
it were possible, they should " deceive the very elect," 
just before Christ appears in the clouds of heaven. 
Matt. 24:24-27. It is thai "working of Satan," 



Can spirits be identified? 38. What is its more modern 
phase? 39. "What passage in Matthew does it fulfill? 40. 

16 



242 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

which is finally to reach "all power and signs and 
lying wonders" just as the brightness of Christ's 
coming bursts upon the world. 2 Thess. 2:8-10. 
It is the "doctrine of devils" taught by "seducing 
spirits," to which some in the last days would de- 
part, as the Spirit of God has expressly declared. 
1 Tim. 4:1, 2. It is that work which was to take 
place "in the last days," corresponding to the work 
of Jannes and Jambres, who, by their wonders 
wrought in the presence of Pharaoh, withstood 
Moses. 2 Tim. 3:6-8. It is that anti-Christian 
work described in Heb. 10:29, which was to be wit- 
nessed when the great day of the Lord was ap- 
proaching. Verse 25. The same class is described 
by Peter (2 Pet. 2), and by Jude (verse 13), who 
are to receive vengeance for their ungodly deeds a,t 
the coming of Christ. It is that wonder-working 
power brought to view in Rev. 13:13, 14, which is 
soon to gather the nations to the battle of the great 
day of God Almighty (Rev. 16: 13, 14), and is again 
brought to view in Rev. 19:20, in the last struggle 
against Christ, the King of kings, when it perishes 
in the lake of fire. 

Is it any wonder that Satan cherishes such venom 
against the word of God, which so fully exposes his 
deceptive work? 

What are its mediums and ministers? 41. What other pas- 
sages does it fulfill? 






CHAPTER XXIV. 



The Second Advent 

He who would come to God must first believe 
that he is. Heb. 11:6. He who would intelli- 
gently hold any doctrine concerning Christ must 
believe in him as the Son of God, and have some 
idea of the work he has undertaken to do. Christ 
says to his disciples, " Ye believe in God, believe also 
in me." John 14 : 1. For those and to those who 
thus believe, we write. 

Within the area of one great fact, all believers in 
Christ hold common ground; namely, that Christ, 
in human form, was once literally and personally 
here upon the earth ; that he taught, suffered, died, 
rose, and ascended to heaven. Of a certain event 
in the future the Scriptures speak, in varied phrase- 
ology, as his return, coming again, appearing the 
second time, etc. What do they mean by these ex- 
pressions? Is Christ again to reveal himself per- 
sonally and visibly to mankind? If so, under what 
circumstances? in what manner? for what purpose? 
and at what time? These are questions of absorb- 
ing interest. 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR. 

1. What must lie who would come to God, first do? 2. 
How must he regard Christ? 3. What ground do all Chris- 
tians hold in common? 4. "What great future event in 
Christ's work do the Scriptures speak of ? 5. To discuss 

(243) 



244 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

The subject of the second advent can no more be 
discussed intelligently apart from that of the first 
advent, than advanced grammar can bo considered 
without the use of the alphabet, or the higher mathe- 
matics without reference to the first rules of num- 
bers. Why did Christ come the first time ? If this 
question can be answered, it will determine why he 
comes the second time, if he is to come ; and if the 
purpose of the second advent can be known, that 
will determine largely the nature, manner, and con- 
comitants of that coming. 

The great diversity of views that exists on this 
subject must be owing to a failure on the part of 
those who hold these diverse views, to comprehend 
the scope, and look through to the completion, of 
the plan of redemption. Ask the average church 
member of to-day what purposes God has for the 
future of this earth and the human family, and he 
will tell you he does not know. Is the present state 
of things always to continue? — Yes, so far as he is 
aware. It has been in some way arranged that 
the righteous go to heaven, and the wicked to hell, 
when they die; and this process is to go forward 
through an indeterminate future, and the world drift 
drearily on without object, aim, purpose, or hope. 
And therefore all declarations concerning the second 
coming of Christ must apply to some present expe- 
riences, — to the inflictions of j udgments, special out- 
pourings of the Spirit, the development of new isms 
(like Mormonism, Shakerism, and Spiritualism), to 

intelligently the second advent, what other advent must we 
consider? 6. Why is there such diversity of views on this 
subject? 7. On what ground only can we determine the 
nature, mariner, object, -and relative time of the second ad- 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 245 

conversion, or to death. Is this consistent? — By no 
means, as can be easily made to appear. 

If the redemption which Christ has undertaken 
for mankind consists cf a definite and 'well defined 
plan, certain parts of which are fulfilled by his first 
and second advents, and can be fulfilled only by 
them, the nature, manner, object, and relative time 
cf kis second advent are determined beyond the pos- 
sibility of variation. 

Will the reader go with us in the further devel- 
opment of this thought? Man was once upright, 
and needed no redemption. He fell ; and a Saviour, 
gratuitously provided by the grace cf God, became 
his only hope. In his fall he lost innocence, took on 
guilt, subjected himself to death, and alienated to 
the deceiver his title to the inheritance, the new- 
made earth, which God had given him. The incip- 
ient promise of the proposed work of redemption 
was that the seed cf the woman should bruise the 
head of the deceiving serpent, which must signify 
th. at the purposes of the deceiver were to be 
thwarted and his work undone. 

To this end, Christ accordingly undertook to re- 
store to man his lost innocence, take away his in- 
curred guilt, release him from the power cf death, 
and put him again in possession of his forfeited in- 
heritance. To do this, he gave himself as a sacri- 
fice, by which perfect satisfaction was rendered to 
the lav/ cf God. This brought him to this world in 
the form cf a servant, to suffer the death of the 

vent ] 8. What ^vas man's original condition? 9. "What 
change in this respect took place? 10. What was involved 
in the promise of the woman's seed? 11. What has Chrict 
undertaken to do? 12. What acts on his part does this in- 



246 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

cross. The foundation of the work was thus laid 
broad and deep. Man has an intercessor, and sins 
can be pardoned. But the work cannot be com- 
pleted till the power of death is broken, and the in- 
heritance, restored to its Edenic beauty, is again put 
back into the hands of its first possessors. For this 
purpose the dead must be brought out from their 
graves by a resurrection; but the resurrection de- 
pends upon the second coming of Christ, by which 
alone it can be accomplished. And every bloody 
trace of the curse must be burned out by the all- 
purging fires which God will kindle as a testimony 
against sin. Hence, when Christ comes, he takes 
his people to himself, not to be again established 
upon the earth till its purification^ is accomplished, 
and the whole work of redemption is carried out. 
Christ's second coming, then, must be a personal, 
literal, and visible coming. In no other way can 
God's revealed purpose in this matter be brought to 
its predicted and glorious issue. A brief examina- 
tion of the testimony of th« Scriptures will now show 
that the foregoing propositions rest securely upon 
their uniform and unequivocal testimony. 

1. The fact that Christ will come a second time 
to this earth, is most explicitly stated. " Unto them 
that look for him shall he appear the second time 
without sin unto salvation." Hcb. 9:28. The re- 
strictive clause, " unto them that look for him," does 
not apply to his appearing; for when he comes, 

volve 1 13. Hoav much, has he already accomplished? 11. 
What remains to be done? 15. On what does the resurrec- 
tion of the dead depend? 16. What docs Christ do with 
his people when he comes? 17. What, then, must he the 
coming of Christ 1 18. What fact is explicitly stated? Ref- 
erence. 19. To what does the restrictive clause apply? 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 247 

" every eye shall see him " (Rev. 1:7; Matt. 24 : 30) ; 
but only to his bestowal of salvation; for to those 
only who look for him will he appear "unto salva- 
tion." 

When Christ ascended, the two angels who re- 
mained a moment behind to comfort the disciples 
under the shock and sorrow of separation from their 
Lord, exclaimed in thrilling tones, " Ye men of Gal- 
ilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This 
same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven 
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go 
into heaven." Acts 1:11. This statement is di- 
rect. Its terms are simple and explicit. It is not 
ambiguous. It has no double meaning. Men may 
disbelieve it, as popular theology practically does; 
but it can be understood in only one way ; and that 
is, that the same Christ who ascended, shall literally, 
visibly, and personally appear again to human 
eyes in the clouds of heaven. 1 Thess. 4 :16 states 
the same thing; also Mark 13:26; 14:62; Luke 
21 . 27. 

2. The object of Christ's coming is to reward 
every man as his work shall be. Matt. 16 : 27 ; Rev. 
22: 12. And this is accomplished by — : 

First, Raising the righteous dead to immortality. 
John 6:39, 40; 1 Cor. 15:23, 42-44, 52; 1 Thess. 
4:16; 2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 20:6. 

Secondly, Changing all the righteous living to im- 
mortality through the mighty energy of the Holy 



20. Who gave the testimony of Acts 1:11? 21. What is 
its meaning? 22. What other texts state the same thing? 
23. What is the object of Christ's second coming? 24. 
What is first done toward accomplishing this ? 25. Secondly? 



248 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

Spirit. Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:51, 52; Phil. 3:20, 
21; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 4:17; 1 John 3:2. 

Thirdly, Destroying all the living wicked. Isa. 
6:11; 13:9; 24:1, 3; Jer. 25:32-35; Zeph. 1:2, 3; 
Matt. 13:38-42; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2:8; Rev. 6: 
14-17; 19:21. (The wicked dead are reserved for 
punishment to the second resurrection, after the in- 
vestigative Judgment on their cases during the 
thousand years of Rev. 20:4, following which, in 
their cases, the second death ends all. Rev. 20: 
11-15.) 

3. The "manner of this coming will be over- 
whelmingly majestic and glorious. It will be in 
the glory of the Father (Matt. 16:27), with all the 
holy angels (Matt. 25:31), in naming fire (2 Thess. 
1:7, 8), with the blast of a trumpet and a voice 
that will shake both heaven and earth, and reach 
the ears even of the earliest dead in their lowest sepul- 
chers. Matt. 24 : 31 ; John 5 : 28 ; 1 Thess. 4:16; 
Heb. 12:26; Rev. 16:17. The wicked will perish 
in that awful day, as wax melts before the fire 
(Rev. 6:15, 16; 2 Thess. 2:8;. Rev. 1:7; Heb. 12: 
29; Rev. 19:21), but the righteous will hail him 
with exceeding joy. Isa. 25:9; 1 John 2:28; Jude 
24; Rev. 22:20. 

4. A knowledge of this coming will be possessed 
by the righteous, but not by the wicked. Daniel 
says (12: 10) that the wise shall understand, but the 
wicked shall not understand. As a snare shall it — 
the day of the Lord — come upon the wicked. Luke 

26. ThirHly? 27. What will be the manner of his coming? 
28. How will it affect the wicked? 29. What difference 
between the righteous and the wicked in regard to knowing 
about these things % 30. What can be said of the nearness 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 249 

21:35. They remain in willful darkness, and the 
day conies upon them as a thief. 1 Thess. 5:2, 3. 
But the righteous are not in darkness, and the day 
does not overtake them as a thief. Verse 4. 

5. This second coming of Christ ic now near at 
hand. The Scriptures have not only revealed the 
fact of the restitution cf all things (Acts 3:21) 
through the redemption which Christ has under- 
taken, but they have also given us abundant data 
by which we can tell when the great work is draw- 
ing near its completion. The result to be reached 
is the establishment of the kingdom of God in all 
the earth, and such an overthrow of all opposition 
to God's authority and such an eradication of all the 
elements of evil, that the great chorus of the whole 
universe shall be one cf peace, harmony, and love 
among all creatures, and thanksgiving, honor, and 
glory to Creator and Redeemer, "to Him that 
sitteth on the throne and unto the Lamb forever 
and ever." Rev. 5:13. The evidences which show 
that the kingdom cf God is nigh are — 

1. Historical events. Lines of consecutive events 
are given us, the concluding one of which is the set- 
ting up of God's kingdom, and the ushering in of 
eternal scenes, while all the others lie within the 
held of human history. Thus beginning with Baby- 
lon the Great, 677 B. c, four great ruling kingdoms 
were to appear consecutively among men. These 
were Babylon, Me do-Persia, Grecia, and Rome. 
And they have all appeared as foretold. The last of 

of the advent? 31. What is the great result to be reached? 
82. What is given hy which we rnay judge of our nearness 
to the end? 33. How many kingdoms from Babylon to the 
end of time \ 34. What are these ? and how many have 



250 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

these kingdoms (Rome) was to be divided into ten 
kingdoms; which was accomplished between the 
years 356 and 483 A. D. ; and in the days of these 
divisions (which still continue) the kingdom of God 
was to be set up by the violent overthrow and utter 
destruction of all these kingdoms. Dan. 2:31-46. 
This is next in order, and must be near, as other 
prophecies still more definitely show. 

In Daniel 7 another prophecy is given us, from 
which we learn that the second advent of Christ is 
now at hand. Here the same historical events pre- 
sented in the image of Dan. 2 are again symbolized, 
with some sharply-outlined subdivisions, and the 
fixed limitations of a prophetic period. As in Dan. 
2, so here, Babylon is followed by Medo-Persia, 
Grecia, and Rome in the procession of earthly king- 
doms; and then the saints take the dominion under 
the whole heaven. But Rome, before its history is 
finished, breaks up into ten divisions, symbolized by 
ten horns ; and the rise of the papacy to rule and 
domineer among these kingdoms through all the dark 
ages, is symbolized by another horn rising to power, 
and continuing 1260 years. Commencing in 538, 
this period of 1260 years ended in 1798. The last 
specified act of this horn was the utterance of " great 
words," which we think were emphatically spoken 
by the Ecumenical Council of 1870, in its decree of 
papal infallibility. In consequence of these words, 
and apparently after no great lapse of time, Daniel 

appeared? 35. What is next in order? 36. What is given 
in Daniel? 37. What division takes place in Rome? 38. 
What is symbolized by the little horn ? 39. What is its last 
specified act? 40. When was it performed? 41. What i,; 
the fate of this power, and how accomplished ? 42. What 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 251 

saw the beast slain and his body given to the burn- 
ing flame. Dan. 7:11. But the burning flame in 
which the papacy perishes, is nothing less than the 
spirit of Christ's mouth, and the brightness of his 
coining literally manifested at his second advent in 
the clouds of heaven. 2 Thess. 2:8. Of our prox- 
imity to that event, the reader can now judge. 

Again, in Daniel 8, the rise and fall of Medo- 
Persia, Grecia, and Rome are given us, to be suc- 
ceeded by the kingdom of God. Another longer 
and more important prophetic period is measured off, 
which terminated in 1844; and the event to which 
it brought us was the last brief division of the work 
of our Saviour as mediator for the world, nearly 
forty years of which are already in the past. His 
exalted position as King of kings and Lord of lords 
is next inevitably to come, and that speedily. 

In the closing verses of Daniel 11, the prophet de- 
picts the last scenes in the history of a power now 
fast sinking to its inevitable doom. Of the Turk- 
ish power, as the " king of the north," it is written, 
" He shall come to his end, and none shall help him. 
And at that time shall Michael [Christ] stand up 
[that is, commence his reign]." The question, " How 
near is the Turkish power to its utter extinction?" 
is to the student of prophecy simply this : " How 
near is the setting up of the eternal kingdom of our 
Lord Jesus Christ ? " To this question let politicians 
and statesmen anywhere respond, and we will abide 
by the answer. 

is given in Daniel 8 '? 43. What important period is there 
measured off ? 44. When did it end 1 45. To what event 
did it bring us ] 46. What position is Christ next to take ? 
47. What is given us in the last part of Dan. 11 ? 48 What 
is indicated by the condition of the Turkish power ? 49. 



252 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

In Rev. 12 and 13 we are carried through the 
pagan and papal forms of the Roman government, 
forward to our own time and our own nation. 
Certain religious movements, which are already ap- 
pearing in embryo, are here to be developed, when 
this government, with the papacy, in conjunction 
with which it performs its last acts of religious op- 
pression, is suddenly arrested in its career, and per- 
ishes in its pride at the second coming of Christ. 
Rev. 13:13, 14; 19:20. 

Such is a small portion, briefly stated, of the his- 
torical evidence that history itself is soon to cease in 
the opening scenes of the eternal world. Further 
evidence of this is found in — 

2. Natural phenomena. — It might be expected 
that nature, in her various modes of operation, 
would give premonitions of the approach of the final 
catastrophe. We are not surprised, therefore, to 
read the predictions that the sun should be dark- 
ened, the moon refuse her light, the stars fall from 
heaven, strange sights appear above, fiercer and 
more frequent convulsions shake the earth beneath, 
and the great deep lift up its waves as if it would 
leap in terror from its ancient bed. All these phe- 
nomena have appeared. The dark day and night 
of May 19, 1780, the great meteoric shower of Nov. 
13, 1833, wonderful auroras, cyclones and cloud 
bursts on land, water-spouts and tidal waves at sea. 
are all matters of record and of growing wonder 
and alarm. What do they presage? Prophecy 



What can be said of the prophecy of Rev. 12 and 13 1 50. 
In what do we find further evidence of the nearness of the 
end? 51. What are some of the principal of these .pheno- 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 253 

savs, "The great and notable day of the Lord." 
Joel 2:30, 31; Acts 2: 19, 20; Luke 21:25-27. 

3. Political disturbances and 'perplexity among 
the nations. — In a line of consecutive events, na- 
tional distresses and perplexities stand next preced- 
ing the shaking of the powers of heaven, and the 
appearing of the Son of man. Luke 21 : 25-27. 
Nihilists in Russia, communists in Germany, mon- 
archists in France, dynamiters in England, paupers 
and anarchists in Ireland, Mormons in America, 
capital oppressing labor, and labor combining against 
capital, here, there, and everywhere, till the world's 
mass of humanity is heaved and tossed like the 
troubled sea when it cannot rest, — all proclaim the 
prophecy fulfilled. Add to this the fact that mill- 
ions are almost daily squandered on the invention 
of new and more murderous weapons of war, on ex- 
periments in attack and defense, on vast collections 
of the material for war, and that even the heathen 
of the far East, China and Japan, are rapidly pro- 
viding themselves with the improved modern imple- 
ments of warfare, and that the millions of Moham- 
medans from Persia to Hindostan are ready to rise 
as a man in defense of their prophet, and we may 
well believe that "the day of the Lord is near in 
the valley of decision," or "concision," cutting off, as 
the margin reads. Joel 3:9-14. 

4. Moral and religious phenomena. — As the 
world draws near to its last day, its religious and 
moral condition was, according to prophecy, to be 
peculiar and abnormal. Satan comes down to 
work with increased energy, because he knows that 

mena ? 52. What was to be the condition of the nations of 
the last days? 53. What fulfillments do we already see? 
54. What moral and religious phenomena were to appear 1 



254 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

his time to work will soon be past. Evil men and 
seducers wax worse and worse. Violence fills the 
earth, as in the days of Noah ; licentiousness, as in 
the days of Lot. The moral barriers of society 
seem to be giving way. Professed Christians are 
borne down by the tide of evil influences, and sink 
to the same level with the world. Spiritualism 
with its fetid breath and polluting touch, stalks 
forth through all lands, to poison the last fountains 
of truth, and take all the world in its subtle snare. 
Rev. 12:12; 2 Tim. 3:1-5, 13; Luke 17:26-30; 
Matt. 24:24; 2 Thess. 2:9-12; Rev. 13:13; 16:13, 
14; 19:20. Bat God counterworks by sending 
forth a last saving message, to prepare all who will 
receive it for the coming of his Son. The "gos- 
pel of the kingdom " goes to all the world. Matt. 
24:14. A threefold message, symbolized by the 
three angels of Rev. 14: 6-14, prepares a people for 
the coming of the Son of man upon the great white 
cloud. All this we witness in the world around us. 
What more remains to be done? 

In view of this great event, the second coming of 
Christ and the end of all things, the church is ex- 
horted to watchfulness (Mark 13:36, 37; 1 Pet. 4: 
7), sober, righteous, and godly living (Titus 2:12, 
13), patience, and love to the brethren (Jas. 5:8, 9), 
and all holiness and godliness in life and conversa- 
tion. Obedience to these exhortations will secure 
us a preparation for that day. Disregarding them, 
we shall find our portion at last with hypocrites and 
unbelievers. 

55. How are the prophecies in this respect being fulfilled? 

56. By what means does God counterwork the powers of 
darkness ? 57. To what is the church exhorted in view of 
the second advent ? 



CHAPTER XXV. 



The Two Laws. 

We speak only of those laws mentioned in the 
Scriptures as connected with the government and 
redemption of man. Do the Scriptures recognize, as 
occupying this field, two laws, distinct in their origin, 
distinct in their nature, distinct in their office, and 
distinct in their duration? Or do they recognize but 
one law existing at any one time in the world, an 
indivisible whole, equally affected in all its parts by 
any changes or limitations? 

To these questions, different answers are given by 
different classes. One class hold that in the begin- 
ning there was a law given to man, moral in its na- 
ture and immutable and eternal in its principles; 
that after the fall of man, another law was intro- 
duced, owing its origin to this change in man's re- 
lation to God, and of such a natui^e as to meet, for 
the time being, the requirements of the system of 
redemption then introduced. This law they hold to 
be the ceremonial and typical law, beginning with 
the patriarchal sacrifices, enlarged in the Mosaic 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE. 

1. What do we mean by the "two laws" ? 2. "What two 
questions at once arise? 3. How are they treated by differ- 
ent classes ? 4. What opinion does one class entertain con- 
cerning a law in the beginning ? 5. When was another law 
introduced? 6. To what did it owe its origin? 7. What 

(255) 



256 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

dispensation, and reaching only to Christ, as it was 
simply designed to foreshadow and point out the 
real work of Christ for the salvation of men, and 
was the medium through which the people of the 
Lord could show their faith in a Redeemer to come. 
And when Christ, the antitype and substance, fin- 
ished his work in this world in the days of his flesh, 
and opened the new dispensation, the types and 
shadows of necessity ceased to exist, and the law of 
ceremonies came to an end, being nailed to the cross. 
But this did not in anywise affect that other and higher 
law which antedated and outranked the ceremonial. 
That passed over into this dispensation unchanged; 
it still continues, and will endure, at least in its two 
great principles, which require us to love God su- 
premely and our fellow-beings as ourselves, through 
all eternity. 

The other class hold that previous to the first ad- 
vent of Christ there was but one law connected 
with the economy of grace; that the Bible recog- 
nizes no such distinction as moral and ceremonial; 
that those laws which are usually called moral and 
those which are called ceremonial belong to the 
same system, constituting- an indivisible whole, all 
being, in the same sense, the law of the Lord; and 
that when Christ nailed a law to the cross, it in- 
cluded the whole, and swept from existence every 

was its nature ? 8. What name is given to this law ? 9. 
How long was it to continue? 10. What was its design? 

11. For what purpose did the people of the Lord use it? 

12. How did the work of Christ affect this law? 13. How 
did it affect the first law 1 1 1. In what form and how long 
did this law endure ? 15. What view does another class hold 
in reference to law previous to the first advent ? 16. In this 
case, what did Christ's death accomplish? 17. And what law 



THE TWO LAWS. 257 

law which God had given to man previous to that 
time, — all to which such distinctive appellations are 
given as moral and ceremonial, governmental and 
redemptive. Since the advent of Christ, we have, 
according to this scheme, another law, the law of 
Christ, enacted and of force this side the crucifixion. 

The question, Which of these views is correct? is 
an important one. Momentous conclusions hang 
upon the answer. Mark them well. If the posi- 
tion first named is correct, the distinction between 
moral and ceremonial law is a legitimate distinction ; 
and this distinction being allowed, it will not be 
disputed that the moral law is summarily contained 
in the decalogue, or ten commandments; and this 
law being immutable and perpetual, it follows that 
ever}' commandment of the decalogue is still of 
binding obligation ; and then the inevitable sequence 
is not far to reach ; namely, that the very same day 
which the fourth commandment of the decalogue 
designates as the Sabbath of the Lord, must still be 
observed as such. 

But if the second view is correct, then the Sab- 
bath commandment, with all other Bible laws then 
existing, was abolished at the cross; and we have 
now no Sabbath unless it can be shown that some 
law for such an institution has been enacted since the 
crucifixion of Christ. This conclusion all no- Sab- 
bath men are anxious to reach; and some Sunday 
men are willing to take the same ground, as the 
most effectual way of disposing of the fourth com- 
mandment, hoping to be able to find other tenable 
ground upon which to rear the Sunday fabric. 

have we since the first advent ? 18. What follows from the 
first position? 19. "What follows from the second? 20. 

17 



258 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

Immense consequences, as the reader must now 
see, are thus suspended upon our views of this ques- 
tion. The subject of the two laws involves no less 
than the question of obedience or disobedience to one 
of the commandments of the great Jehovah. 

Our opponents are not slow to see the strategic 
importance of this argument in its relation to the 
whole Sabbath question; hence they plant their 
heaviest batteries at this point, and expend the bur- 
den of their efforts in defense of the one-law view. 
If it can be maintained that the distinction men- 
tioned in the foregoing paragraphs does not exist, 
Sabbath-keeping at once disappears from the list of 
Christian duties. If the distinction does exist, the 
perpetuity of the Sabbath is inevitably assured. 
No question, therefore, more vital to the interests of 
Sabbath-keepers can be proposed, nor one in the 
solution of which they should feel a deeper interest. 

With the foregoing presentation of the question, 
we are prepared to state the proposition which it is 
our purpose to maintain. It is, that the Bible rec- 
ognizes two laws as distinct from each other as black 
and white, daylight and darkness; that these two 
laws existed contemporaneously from the time of 
the introduction of the plan of salvation to the death 
of Christ, when one of them was nailed to the cross ; 
while the other still continues. 

This view will be defended as alone consistent 
with reason and revelation, as one which alone har- 
monizes the Scriptures, and puts into agreement 

What question does the subject of the two laws therefore 
involve? 21. How do our opponents treat this question? 
22. How is the Sabbath affected by it? 23. What proposi- 
tion is here maintained? 24. Why should this view be 



THE TWO LAWS. 259 

with itself their testimony concerning the work of 
Christ and the plan of salvation. While the other 
view, that there was only one law previous to the 
death of Christ, which was at that time all abolished, 
making necessary a new enactment for whatever 
law we have since that time, is contrary to the 
plainest principles of God's government, arrays Bible 
against Bible, and is utterly execrable in the conclu- 
sions to which it leads. 

1. Two facts appear at the very threshold of this 
subject, which will be readily acknowledged by all. 
First, some laws which were binding in the old dis- 
pensation are binding in this dispensation. The 
laws, for instance, against murder, adultery, theft, 
blasphemy, and idolatry are still in force. There 
are, therefore, some obligations common to both dis- 
pensations from which the world could not, consist- 
ently with God's government, for a single moment 
be released. Secondly, that which was abolished at 
the cross was an entire system. God did not single 
out and abolish portions and pieces of some arrange- 
ment or system, and leave other parts remaining. 
If there was but one law, it all expired at the cross. 
Now a question arises; namely, Was there ever 
even a human government guilty of such folly as to 
abolish a law which the State could not for a mo- 
ment spare, and then re-enact it at the same instant, 
knowing before their action that when they had 
abolished it, they must instantaneously re-enact it? 
What kind of a farce would this be? And shall we 



defended? 25. How may the one-law view be characterized ? 
26. What two facts appear at the very beginning ? 27. What 
questions does this suggest? 28. What is the first count in 



260 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

charge God with folly as much greater than this as 
his laws are more sacred than human laws, and all 
the world is greater than a single State? This is 
what he did do, if he abolished all law at the cross ; 
and he did there abolish all law, if there was but 
one law. But if there were some principles not 
abolished then, there was some law which did not 
belong to the system which then came to an end. 
But further, if there were laws in the old dispensa- 
tion which could not be spared in this, and all must 
admit that there were, why should God abolish 
them? Can any one answer? If you say that they 
chanced to be in an imperfect system, which had to 
be taken out of the way, and which, of course, car- 
ried everything with it, then another question arises, 
Did not God know this? Could he not foresee the 
dilemma in which he would at length find the 
eternal principles of his government involved ? Ought 
we not to be careful how we charge God with folly? 
And this is the first count in the indictment of the 
one-law theory ; it charges an infinite God with in- 
finite folly. 

2. The laws against murder, adultery, theft, blas- 
phemy, and idolatry have been referred to, as nec- 
essary in, and common to, both dispensations. Let 
us inquire into the origin of these principles. God, 
as our Creator, has a right to rule us. We, as his 
creatures, are under obligation to obey. There must 
be some law regulating this relation, and defining 
our duties. But man was not to be alone in the 
world. The earth was to be filled with inhabitants. 
All men would be under obligation to their fellow- 

the indictment of the one-law theory ? 29. When did moral 
laws originate and how long must they continue? 30. 



THE TWO LAWS. 261 

men; and there must be some law regulating this 
relation also, and the duties growing out of it. 
Thus in two directions man was placed under obli- 
gation in the beginning; and these duties to God 
and to his fellow-men existed in the very nature of 
things; they began with man's being, — a necessary 
concomitant of creation itself. And these laws must 
endure as long as these relations continue; and until 
the relations change, the laws governing them can 
never change. 

All this, remember, before ever man had sinned. 
And if he had never sinned, these laws would have 
existed just the same. They would have gone with 
him, not only till he was confirmed in holiness and 
happiness, but through all eternity. And they 
would have been the only laws to which he was sub- 
ject. Now, when man fell into sin, how did it af- 
fect his amenability to these laws ? It did not affect 
it in the least, as it did not release him from any ob- 
ligation to God or to his fellow-men. 

Here, then, we have well-defined laws, occupying 
a specific field of their own, and regulating a dis- 
tinct class of duties; laws which existed prior to the 
fall, independently of the fall, and which were not 
affected by the fall. These may be justly termed 
original or primary latus, which were, in the very 
nature of the case, immutable and eternal. 

But just as soon as man had sinned, making re- 
demption necessary to his salvation, and a plan had 
been devised for the accomplishment of a work of 
atonement in the hands of a mediator, another law 



How did man's sin affect these laws, and his relation to them? 
CI. What may these laws he called? 32. What otherlaw sprung 
into existence when man sinned? and why? 33. Could 



262 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TPUTH. 

sprung into existence as the immediate result of this 
work. For after this, if man would have the favor 
of God, it becomes necessary for him not only to 
obey the primary laws, which were in nowise re- 
laxed, but also to conform to certain other require- 
ments by which he was to express faith in a coming 
redeemer. This was the law of types and shadows, 
and was to be obeyed in the performance of certain 
typical ceremonies, rites, and offerings. Here was 
a law that owed its origin to the fall of man, and 
which could not have existed before; for a type 
pointing out a coming redeemer would have been 
an impossibility before such a redeemer was necessary 
to man's future welfare. The object of this law 
was not to change or interfere with any of man's 
primary duties to God or to his fellow-men, but 
only to show him the way back to God's forfeited 
favor. 

We now have before us two laws, distinct in their 
origin, distinct in their nature, and distinct in their 
design. The next inquiry will be whether they are 
equally distinct in the matter of their duration. 

We take our stand at the opening of this dispen- 
sation, and look at the work of Christ, and listen to 
the teachings of the first ministers of the gospel. 
Christ says: " Think not that I am come to destroy 
the law or the prophets ; I am not come to destroy, 
but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till 
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in 
no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." 
Here is a law introduced, the perpetuity of which is 

such a thing as a type or typical law have existed before the 
fall? 84. What have we now before us 1 35. What is the 
next inquiry 1 36. What does Christ say of the law ? 37. 



THE TWO LAWS. 263 

taught in the most explicit manner so long as the 
heavens and the earth should endure, and until all 
the prophecies, some of which span the measureless 
cycles of eternity, should be fulfilled.. 

Shall we say that there was but one law in the 
world to this time? Then that law must continue 
to the end. It still endures. Every rite and cere- 
mony, sacrifice and offering, is still in fortfe, on this 
hypothesis; for not a jot or tittle of the law was to 
pass while heaven and earth endured. Absurd to 
say that this was spoken of a law, which, as a whole, 
or in any of its parts, was to cease at the cross, not 
more than three and a half years at most from the 
time when this language was spoken. To apply 
this language to the Mosaic law, with the under- 
standing that that law was to cease at the cross, as 
some do, is to place the Divine Teacher in the fol- 
lowing absurd position: He steps forth upon the 
stage of his public ministry, takes up a law which 
had continued unimpaired for nearly fifteen hun- 
dred years, and makes the most solemn asseveration 
that that law is still to continue without failing for 
three and a half years more ! And he finds no way 
to measure this period, except by using an expres- 
sion which covers the enormous duration of all coming 
time, " Till all things be fulfilled." It would scarcely 
be possible for language to frame a greater or more 
wicked absurdity. 

This law was one which was to be obeyed and 
taught by all the followers of Christ, in all coming 
time, and which was the test, or standard, of right- 

If there was but one law, what conclusion follows 1 38. 
Why not apply Christ's words to the law of Moses? 39. 
How were the followers of Christ to regard this law? 40. 



264 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

eousness. Verse 20. And a law regulating right- 
eousness, or right doing, can be fulfilled only by 
rendering perfect obedience to its requirements. 
This is what the Lord was to do in reference to the 
moral law ; for this law was in his heart (Ps. 40 : 8), 
and he was to magnify and make it honorable. Isa. 
42:21. It was a law which was in existence in the 
days of James, and which he instructed the disciples 
to keep, when he said, "If ye fulfill the royal law 
according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself, ye do well." James 2:8. We 
fulfill this law by loving our neighbors as ourselves ; 
and this is a continual duty ; not one which we are 
to perform once, and by so doing forever abolish the 
law which requires it, according to the absurd one- 
law scheme. 

But there was a law which ceased at the cross. 
It is called the "handwriting of ordinances," and is 
said to have been "blotted out," and "nailed to the 
cross." It is called the "middle wall of partition" 
which has been "broken down;" a "law of com- 
mandments contained in ordinances," which has 
been " abolished [in his [Christ's] flesh;" the "en- 
mity" which has been "slain" by the cross. And 
when these scriptures speak of the law which has 
been abolished, they tell us also what kind of a law 
it was. It was the "handwriting of ordinances," 
not the "royal law," of which James speaks. It 
was " commandments contained in ordinances" not 



For how long? 41. Of what was it the test? 42. How 
can such a law be fulfilled ? 43. How did David and Isaiah 
say the Lord would regard this law ? References. 44. What 
did James say of it ? 45. How is that law described which 
ceased at the cross ] 46. In what four great particulars are 



THE TWO LAWS. 265 

a law of righteousness, which regulates our duty to 
God and our fellow-men. It was a law which was 
a "shadow of things to come," the body of which is 
" of Christ," not the law which antedated all types 
and shadows. This reveals its true nature. It was 
the typical and shadowy system, which of necessity 
ceased at the cross, as a shadow ceases when the 
substance which casts the shadow is reached. 

Thus, while it is declared of one law that it 
should endure while the heavens and the earth 
should continue, of the other it is declared that it 
was "slain," "abolished," "blotted out," at the 
cross ; and now for over eighteen hundred and fifty- 
one years, this law has not been binding upon man- 
kind. 

Having now found two laws between which 
there is a marked distinction most plain and unmis- 
takable, first as to their origin, secondly as to their 
nature, thirdly as to their office, and fourthly as to 
their duration, it only remains to notice some of the 
antithetical expressions of the Scriptures which rec- 
ognize this distinction, and which can by no possi- 
bility be harmonized on the one-law theory. 

As it has been clearly shown that one of these 
laws is moral and the other ceremonial, these words 
will conveniently designate the laws referred to, as 
they are contrasted in the following paragraphs. 

Moral. — This law, regulating our duties to God 
and to our fellow-men, was a primary law, binding 
on man before the fall, would still have governed 
him had he never fallen, and was in nowise changed 
by the fall. 

these laws distinct ? 47. What is the distinction in their or- 
igin? 48. What distinction in the manner in which they 



266 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

Ceremonial. — This law never would have existed 
had not man fallen. It was a law of service, by 
which man could return to the favor of God. 

M. — Was spoken from Sinai by the voice of God, 
and twice written upon tables of stone by his own 
finger, being in this respect plainly distinguished 
from all other laws. Deut. 4:12; 5 : 22. 

0. — Was communicated to Moses privately, and 
was by Moses written with a pen in a book. Deut. 
31 : 9. 

M. — Was deposited in the golden ark, the central 
object of God's true worship in that dispensation, 
made expressly for its reception. Ex. 25:10-16. 

G — Was put into a receptacle by the side of the 
ark. Deut. 31:26. 

M. — Related only to moral duties. Ex. 20: 3-17. 

C— Was wholly ceremonial, relating only to meats 
and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordi- 
nances. Heb. 9:10. 

M. — Was to be written, under the new dispensa- 
tion, in the hearts of the disciples. Jer. 31: 31-34; 
Heb. 8:10. 

C. — Was not to be written anywhere in this dis- 
pensation, but was blotted out and nailed to the cross. 
Col. 2:14. 

M. — Was written by nature in the hearts of the 
Gentiles. Rom. 2:14. 

G. — Was a middle wall of partition between Jews 
and Gentiles. Eph. 2:14, 15. 

were given ? 49. What distinction in the place where they 
were kept? 50. What distinction in the things to which 
they related? 51. What distinction in the position they 
were to occupy in this dispensation ? 52. What distinction 
in their relation to Jews and Gentiles ? 53. What distinc- 



THE TWO LAWS. 267 

M. — Christ did not come to destroy this law (Matt. 
5:17), and hence did not destroy it. 

G — Christ did destroy, by abolishing it (Eph. 2: 
15), and nailing it to his cross. Col. 2: 14. 

M. — Was to remain unchanged even in a jot 
and tittle, as long as heaven and earth should en- 
dure. Matt. 5 : 18. 

G — Was to last only till the time of reformation 
by the coming of Christ. Heb. 9: 10, 11. 

M. — Christ was to magnify and make it honora- 
ble (Isa. 42: 21), which he did by recognizing its au- 
thority, obeying it perfectly, showing its exceeding 
length and breadth, and then dying for those who 
had transgressed it, thus testifying by the most sol- 
emn scene ever witnessed on earth by men or angels, 
that the claims of that law could never be relaxed. 

G. — Christ disannulled this law. Heb. 7:18. It 
does not magnify and make honorable a law to 
show that there are reasons why it should no longer 
exist. This cannot, therefore, be the same law as the 
one mentioned before. 

M. — Was to be kept and taught throughout this 
dispensation by all the disciples of Christ. Matt. 
5:19. 

G — Was not commanded the disciples to keep at 
all, according to the decision of the council at Jeru- 
salem. Acts 15 : 24. 

M. — Is not made void by faith in Christ, but is 
established thereby. Rom. 3:31. 

tion in relation to Christ's work on the cross ? 54. What 
distinction in regard to the time they were to endure ? 55. 
What distinction in Christ's treatment of them ? 56. How 
were the disciples to regard them through this dispensation 1 
57. How are they each affected by faith in Christ? 58. How 



268 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

G. — Is made void by faith in Christ. Gal. 5 : 4. 

M.— Was the " law of liberty." Jas. 2 : 12. 

C. — Was a " yoke of bondage." Gal. 5 : 1. 

M. — Was a law in which the apostle Paul took 
great delight. Rom. 7:22. 

G — Was a yoke too grievous to be borne, either 
by Jews or Christians. Acts 15:10. 

M. — Was a law spiritual, holy, just, and good. 
Rom. 7:12, 14. 

G — Was a law which was carnal, weak, and un- 
profitable, and made nothing perfect. Heb. 7:16, 
18, 19. 

M. — Was the law of which David writes, " The 
law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Ps. 
19:7. 

G. — Was a law which, not being perfect itself, 
could not make its subjects perfect. Heb. 10: 1. 

M. — Was the "royal law;" that is, the law of 
the Great King, perfect, spiritual, holy. Jas. 2:8. 

G. — Was a law of commandments contained in 
ordinances, called "the enmity " (Eph. 2:15, 16), was 
weak and unprofitable (Heb. 7:18), and was only 
temporary. Heb. 9:10. 

M. — Is a law obedience to which is a condition of 
entering into eternal life. -Matt. 19:16-19; Rev. 
22:14. 

G. — Is a law which, if we depend on the keeping 
of it, will cut us off from Christ, the source of life, 
as shown by many scriptures already quoted. 



do they compare in respect to liberty and bondage? 59. 
How did the apostles regard these laws respectively? 60. 
How do they compare in their nature? 61. What is each 
able to accomplish ? 62. What difference in rank between 
these two laws? 63. What different results follow depend- 



THE TWO LAWS. 269 

M. — Is the law by which the world will be judged 
at the last day. Jas. 2:12; Eccl. 12:13, 14. 

C. — Is a law by which no man can be judged. 
Col. 2:16. 

M. — Is designed to secure to man the crowning 
blessing of entering through the gates into the heav- 
enly city. Rev. 22: 14. 

G. — Is a law which is declared to be against us 
and contrary to us. Col. 2: 14. 

It is unnecessary to extend this list to any greater 
length. If any man can scale this multiplied line of 
defenses behind which the argument is entrenched ; 
if he can show that a law is at the same time in ex- 
istence and not in existence, moral and ceremonial, 
perfect and imperfect, spiritual and carnal, for us 
and against us, abolished and not abolished, eternal 
and temporary, — then his logic may essay anything. 
He can show that there is no difference in character 
between false gods and the true God, no difference 
in duration between a month and a century, no dif- 
ference in color between white and black, no differ- 
ence in illumination between daylight or darkness, 
or do any other impossible thing. 

But it is claimed that this very law which we call 
moral has been abolished; as, — 

1. Luke 16: 16: " The law and the prophets were 
until John ; since that time the kingdom of God is 
preached." True, but this does not say that the 
prophets and the law ceased with John, but only 

ence on them respectively? 64. "What difference between 
them in respect to being judged by them? 65. What is to 
be secured by them? 66. Can all these testimonies refer to 
one and the same law 1 67. What must be proved, if there 
is but one law? 68. How is Luke 16:16 explained? 69. To 



270 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

that we have something additional now. Before 
John, law and prophets; since John's time, law, 
prophets, and gospel. 

2. Acts 15. This is usually referred to, to show 
simply that the Sabbath is not now binding. But 
it will be seen on examination that the enumeration 
leaves out other essential precepts, which all admit 
to be now binding. Hence the moral law is not the 
subject of this chapter. 

3. Rom. 6:14: "Not under the law, but under 
grace." This simply means that we are not under 
the condemnation of the law, but under the favor 
of God, who grants us pardon through the sacrifice 
of Christ. But we are not, therefore, at liberty to 
break the law which condemns lying, stealing, kill- 
ing, etc. 

4. Bom. 7: 1-6. In Paul's illustration here given, 
it is not the law that dies in any case, but the first 
husband. With this fact kept in mind, this script- 
ure can never be tortured to testify for antino- 
mianism. 

5. Rom. 10:4: " Christ is the end of the law for 
righteousness to every one that believeth." Very 
well; but how about those who do not believe? 
Think of that. " End " here simply means "ob- 
ject," in the sense of design or purpose. Jas. 5: 11. 

6. 2 Cor. 3: "The ministration of death written 
and engraven in stones." To this our opponents 
usually add immediately, "was done away." But 

what law does Acts 15 refer 1 and why ? 70. Explain the 
terms ''under law" and "under grace." 71. What mistake 
do our opponents make on Rom. 7:1-6? 72. What does 
the word "end" mean in Rom. 10:4? 73. What is Paul's 
argument in 2 Cor. 3 ? 74. What can he said of the consti- 



THE TWO LAWS. 271 

the passage does not so read. It was the " glory " of 
that dispensation which was to be done away, being 
.swallowed up in the greater glory of this dispensa- 
tion, as the light of the moon is swallowed up in the 
light of the sun. The quotation given above is 
elliptical. It means the ministration of that which 
was engraven in stones. A law and the ministra- 
tion of that law are two things. See on this text, 
Clarke, Bloomfield, Alford, and Olshausen. 

In conclusion we have only to say that between 
moral and ceremonial laws there is a difference 
which exists in the very nature of things, — a differ- 
ence which no logic can confound, no chemistry de- 
stroy. There is a difference between oil and water, 
between daylight and darkness. A ceremonial law 
is not a moral law, and can never be made such. 
And we almost feel that an apology is due to the 
reader for even so brief an effort to prove so simple 
a proposition. 

But some one ma}" still say, I cannot see it so. 
Let us tell you, friend, what you need to cause you 
to see it: not stronger logic, nor clearer argument, 
nor a greater amount of testimony ; but a loving, 
obedient, loyal heart, which says to the Lord, Speak, 
for thy servant heareth ; show me the way, and 1 
will walk therein, however heavy the cross or great 
the sacrifice. 



tutional difference between moral and ceremonial law ? 75. 
What is the trouble with those who cannot see it 1 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



The First-day Sabbath. 

The old attempt to impress the fourth command- 
ment of the decalogue into the service of Sunday- 
keeping, by arguing a change of the Sabbath from 
the seventh to the first day of the week, has been 
almost universally abandoned by those who have 
any acquaintance with the Sabbath controversy. 
Yet it may be well to notice it briefly for the sake 
of those who find it hard to surrender old ideas, 
and of those who still have the ground to go over. 

The argument may be presented under three 
heads : I. That the Sabbath changed itself ; that is, 
that the events of that time were of such a nature 
that the Sabbath, as a natural consequence, without 
any legislation, changed from the seventh to the first 
day; II. That Christ changed the day; III. That 
the apostles changed it. 

I. What is meant by events being of such a nature 
as to change the Sabbath, is this: It is claimed that 
redemption is greater than creation, and that Christ 
finished, and rested from, the work of redemption 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX. 

1. What is the present state of the Sunday-Sabbath con- 
troversy 1 2. Under what heads may the argument for the 
change of the Sabbath be presented? 3. What is claimed 
in behalf of the work of redemption ] 4. What contradic- 
[272] 



FIRST-DAY SABBATH. . 273 

when he arose from the dead on the first day of the 
week; therefore the seventh day disappears before 
the first day, as the moon disappears before the ris- 
ing sun, and the first day is henceforth, from the 
very nature of the case, the great luminary of the 
Christian world. It is the easiest matter in the 
world to show that every proposition in this argu- 
ment is either a plain contradiction of fact, or a naked 
assumption ; that there is no coherence between the 
different divisions of the argument ; and that not a 
single conclusion follows from the premises assumed. 

1. Contradiction of fact. — Redemption was not 
finished when Christ rose from the dead. Redemp- 
tion includes the resurrection of the dead, the im- 
mortality of all the saints, and a world made new. 
It will not be finished till the end of probation and 
of sin. 

2. Assumption No. 1. — No man can tell which is 
the greater, creation or redemption, inasmuch as both 
are infinitely beyond his comprehension. It is 
therefore not merely an assumption, but the most 
reckless presumption, for him to attempt to decide 
between them. 

3. A series of "non sequiturs." — First, "It does 
not follow," even if redemption was finished on the 
first day of the week, that that day should be ob- 
served as a rest-day in consequence thereof. Sec- 
ondly, "It does not follow," even if it should be 
observed as a rest-day, that it should be so observed 
every week. The proportion suggested would be 
that between the whole period of Christ's ministry, 



tion of fact is involved in this argument 1 5. What assump- 
tion ] 6. Give the series of "non sequiturs." 7. What is 

18 



274 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

which was three years and a half, and the day of 
his resurrection — one day in every three years and 
a half! Thirdly, "It does not follow," even if we 
should observe that day as a Sabbath, and do it 
every week, that the observance of the seventh day 
should be discontinued. The seventh day rests upon 
its own independent foundation; and if an addi- 
tional day is given us as a Sabbath, then we have 
two days to keep instead of the one day which the 
world had before. 

4. Assumption No. 2. — It is assumed that we 
have redemption through the resurrection of Christ. 
But the Scriptures do not so declare. They do, 
however, twice assert (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14) that 
"we have redemption through his blood;" from 
which the inference naturally follows that if a day 
is to be observed to commemorate it, it should be the 
day on which his blood was shed, not the first day 
of the week. 

5. Unnecessary. — Why do we need to observe a 
day to commemorate the resurrection of Christ, or 
the work of redemption, so far as it has been carried 
out? The Scriptures have plainly given us memo- 
rials of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, in 
the ordinances of the Lord's supper and baptism. 
1 Cor. 11:26; Rom. 6:4. And what need we 
more? Does God ever give two memorials for the 
same event? Anything more would be redundant, 
and an unheard-of thing in the whole list of relig- 
ious institutions. 

As the first proposition thus vanishes from sight 
as soon as we look at it, we pass to the second. 

assumption No. 2 ? 8. Is it necessary ? 9. What memorials 
have the Scriptures provided? 10. "What embarrassing fact 



FIRST-DAY SABBATH. 275 

II. Christ, it is claimed, changed the day from 
the seventh to the first day of the week. An em- 
barrassing fact meets the advocates of this propo- 
sition at the outset. Christ never uttered one syl- 
lable in reference to the first day of the week. 
How, then, could he have changed the Sabbath to 
that day, or have legislated in regard to it? The 
claim is absurd on the very face of it. Do you 
say the record shows that he did do it? Please 
show us the record. For thirty years we have 
searched for it, and cannot find it. The New Tes- 
tament speaks of the first day of the week only 
eight times. Six of these instances are found in 
the four Gospels, and all refer to the day of Christ's 
resurrection; and three of them, namely, Matt. 
28:1; Mark 16:1; and Luke 23:56; 24:1, speak 
of it, not as the Sabbath, but as the day foUoiving 
the Sabbath. One such instance would be enough 
to show the distinction between the Sabbath and the 
first day of the week ; we have three. And in the 
other instances it is simply mentioned as the chrono- 
logical part of the narrative, not as in any re- 
spect honored, elevated, or made Sabbatical in its 
character. 

But, it is asked, did not the disciples understand 
the change, and meet together on that first day of 
the week to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, and 
inaugurate the Christian Sabbath? and did not 

appears under the second head I 11. Where is the record 
that Christ changed the day ? 12. How many times does 
the Kew Testament speak of the first day ? 13. To what do 
six of these references apply? 14. How is the first day 
spoken of in relation to the Sabbath? 15. What did the 
disciples understand about the resurrection? 16. What 



276 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

Christ meet with them, and sanction what they 
were doing by saying, Peace be unto you? It 
would be very nice for this theory if it were so, but 
unfortunately for it, there is no truth in it. At the 
close of that day, after the two disciples had re- 
turned from Emmaus (and it must have been very 
nearly if not quite into the beginning of the next 
day [Luke 24:29, 33] when they reached Jerusa- 
lem), they found the eleven gathered together, 
doubtless at their place of common abode (Acts 1 : 
12, 13); for they were " at meat," that is, partak- 
ing of their evening meal (Mark 16:12-14); and 
the eleven would not believe the report which these 
two disciples brought, that the Lord was risen, and 
had appeared to them on their way to Emmaus. 
Then the Lord himself appeared in their midst, and 
they, so far from believing that he was risen, and 
waiting to see him, were terrified and affrighted at 
his presence (Luke 24: 37); and then he upbraided 
them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, be- 
cause they were so stubborn in their unbelief in re- 
gard to his resurrection that they would not believe 
even the members of their own company who de- 
clared that they had seen him. Mark 16: 14. 

Is not this a promising mass of material out of 
which to erect a first-day Sabbath? A company 
of timid disciples, their hope crushed out by the 
recent crucifixion of their Master, and understand- 
ing so little about his resurrection, and being so 
faithless in regard to it that they would not believe 
those who had seen him, had gathered to their com- 
mon place of abode, and having made fast their 
doors against a possible intrusion of the Jews, who 

shows this? 17. What material have we here for a first-day 



FIRST-BAY" SABBATH. 277 

they feared might next seek their lives, were par- 
taking in sadness of their evening meal. Christ 
appeared, and upbraided them because they did not 
yet believe that he had risen. And now this first- 
day institution steps up, and with a brazen effront- 
ery characteristic of all usurpers, claims that the 
disciples were met to celebrate the resurrecticni, and 
lay the foundation of the Christian Sabbath ! Can 
any theory stand which is based on such preposter- 
ous absurdities? 

Inasmuch as this first interview proves no support 
to the first-day Sabbath, not much importance could 
be attached to any subsequent one ; yet great stress 
is laid by some on John 20:2G: "And after eight 
days, again his disciples were within," etc. This, it 
is claimed, is a record that Jesus waited till the next 
Sunday came around, and 'hen met with the disci- 
ples again, to confirm the Sabbatic nature of that 
day. But — 

1. It cannot be shown that "after eight days," 
means the next Sunday. If it be said that " after 
three days" (Mark 8:31) means "on the third 
day" (Matt. 16:21), and hence "after eight days " 
would mean "on the eighth day," and so be Sun- 
day, we reply that that was not a uniform manner 
of speaking. If it was, the expression, "after six 
days " (Matt. 17 : 1), would mean " on the sixth 
day;" but it did not mean so; for Luke, speaking 
of the same event, the transfiguration, says that it 
was about "eight days " after. Luke 9: 28. 

2. If it be granted that " the eighth day," or just a 

Sabbath? 18. What use is made of John 20:26? 19. 
Where does this claim break down? 20. What does "after 
six days " (Matt. 17:1) mean according to Luke 9:28? 21. 



278 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

week is meant, then it should be considered at what 
point the reckoning must begin. The meeting, 
which began at the last evening of that first 
day (John 20:19), must have . continued into 
the second day before the disciples arrived from 
Emmaus; for "the day was far spent" when Christ 
made himself known to them there, and after that 
they returned to Jerusalem, seven miles, on foot. 
Not till after they had arrived and reported, did 
Jesus appear. His appearance, then, must have been 
on the second day. But further, Thomas was ab- 
sent on this occasion, and Christ had completed his 
interview with them, and disappeared before Thomas 
returned ; yet it was not till after his return, a*nd an 
interview by the disciples with him (verses 24, 25), 
that the period of the eigH days is introduced. All 
this goes unmistakably to show that the reckoning 
should begin from the second day, and that the 
eighth day thereafter would be the second day of 
the next week, not the first day. 

3. If the intention was to honor the first day, why 
did not the record say, " On the next first-day of 
the week"? or what would be better still, as the 
Gospel of John was written after the Revelation, and 
if, as it is claimed, the first day had then come to be 
generally called "the Lord's day," why did he not 
say, "on the next Lord's day"? Would he have 
omitted so appropriate and opportune a time to 
mention it? — Impossible. But it was not the object 
of the meeting to honor the first day. The inten- 



At what time must the reckoning of the eight days begin ? 
22. At what time would they end ? 23. If the honor of the 
first day was intended, how should the record have read? 



FIRST-DAY SABBATH. 279 

tion was simply to mark the time when Thomas was 
with them. 

But Christ met with his disciples on other occa- 
sions. Once, the third time, when they were out 
fishing. John 21 : 3, 14. Were they celebrating 
the resurrection then? Was this Sunday? and did 
the disciples, after Christ had met with them already 
twice, to honor the first day and establish the 
" Christian " Sabbath, so far forget themselves as to 
go off fishing upon that day? Again, a notable 
meeting with the disciples was on the day of his 
ascension, which is generally supposed to have been 
on Thursday. Certainly it was not on Sunday. 

Thus all the evidence vanishes which is produced 
to show that Christ changed the day. An apology 
is due to the reader from any one who would set up 
such a claim in face of Christ's express declaration 
that he came not to change it. Matt. 5 : 17, 18. 

III. But it is still urged by some that the apostles 
changed the day of the Sabbath from the seventh to 
the first day of the week. As an insuperable bar- 
rier to this view lies the fact that Christ, having 
himself failed to change it, gave them no instruc- 
tions to change it; and what he did not do nor in- 
struct them to do, they had no right to do. Yet 
some seem to think that events in their experience 
prove the change. 

1. The Pentecost. — The outpouring of the Spirit 
on the day of Pentecost was not to honor the first 

24. What were the disciples doing at the third meeting? 

25. What questions does this suggest? 26. On what day 
was the last meeting, and what notable occurrence then took 
place ? 27. What argument is drawn from Pentecost ? 28. 
What was the outpouring of the Spirit designed to honor? 



280 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

day of the week, as the Sunday advocate contends. 
Had that been the cause of the manifestation, it 
should, and unquestionably would, have said, When 
the first day of the week was come. But it simply 
reads, " When the day of Pentecost was fully come," 
without telling us what day of the week it was. 
Pentecost, being the fiftieth day from the sixteenth 
of the first month, came on different days of the week 
in different years. If in A. D. 31 it chanced to 
fall on Sunday, that signified nothing for that day. 
But scholars are not agreed as to the day on which 
it fell. Prof. H. B. Hackett, D. D., in "Commen- 
tary on the Original Text of the Acts," pp. 50, 51, 
says: " It is generally supposed that this Pentecost, 
signalized by the outpouring of the Spirit, fell on 
the Jewish Sabbath, our Saturday." Christ's cru- 
cifixion on the 14th day of the first month was the 
antitype of the slaying of the Paschal lamb; his res- 
urrection on the 1 6th of the month was the antitype 
of the waving of the sheaf of first-fruits : fifty days 
from this latter point, the feast of Pentecost must 
meet its antitype; and this was fulfilled in the out- 
pouring of the Spirit on that day; and hence this 
manifestation of the Spirit was delayed till that day 
was " fully come." Ten days had elapsed since the 
ascension of Christ. One first day had been passed 
unnoticed and in silence. Why was not the Spirit 
poured out then? — Because it was only the Pente- 
cost which was to be thus marked, on whatever day 
of the week it might come. 

2. Acts 20 : 7. — In this scripture we have the only 

£9. What day does Prof. Hackett think this was ? 30. How 
many days elapsed between the ascension and the Pentecost? 
31. Why was not the next first-day after the ascension hon- 



FIRST-DAY SABBATfl. 281 

instance to be found in the New Testament of a re- 
ligious meeting on the first day of the week. But 
there is no intimation of any custom, nor any com- 
mand in reference to it. It was only an incidental 
meeting. It was an evening meeting; for there 
were "many lights" in the upper chamber where 
they were assembled. Verse 8. But according to 
the Bible method of reckoning time, the dark even- 
ing of the day was the first part of it, beginning 
with the setting of the sun. This meeting was held, 
therefore, at a time corresponding with our Saturday 
evening. Paul preached till midnight, healed Eu- 
tychus, broke bread, and continued his discourse till 
break of day, and then departed early Sunday 
morning on a twenty-mile journey on foot, across the 
base of the peninsula from Troas to Assos. (See 
Conybeare and Howson.) We commend this apos- 
tolic example to our Sunday-keeping friends. With 
every step of that long journey through all the light 
part of that Syrian Sunday, Paul trampled such a 
thing as a Sunday Sabbatn into the dust, where it 
belongs. 

3. 1 Cor. 16 : 2. — A careful reading of this in- 
struction will show that the work enjoined was not 
to be done in the public congregation, but privately 
at home; it was not proper Sabbath employment, 
but the secular business of looking over worldly 



ored ? 32. Where is the only record in the New Testament 
of a meeting on the first day of the week? 33. Was this a 
regular or only an incidental meeting ? 34. On what part 
of the day was it ? 35. To what time, according to present 
reckoning, would it correspond? 36. On what journey did 
Paul enter Sunday morning? 37. What did this journey 
show in reference to Sunday? 38. What does 1 Cor. 16:2 



282 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

matters, and setting apart a portion for charity. 
The text shows that the apostle regarded it as a sec- 
ular day. 

4. Rev. 1 : 10.— The " Lord's day " of this text is 
not the first day of the week ; for the Lord has never 
set apart that day as his. It is the Sabbath ; for he 
claims that day as his. " The Son of man is Lord 
of the Sabbath-day." 

We have now noticed every instance in which the 
first day is mentioned, and every text supposed to 
refer to it ; and there is not found in the record the 
first trace of any facts out of which a Sabbath could 
be constructed — no rest of any divine being upon 
the day, no law for its observance, and not the 
slightest regard paid to it by either Christ or the 
apostles. 

To find the change of the day, and the real insti- 
tution of the Sunday Sabbath, our friends must go 
a step further. They must come down into that 
age when the " mystery of iniquity," working even 
in Paul's day, had developed, full fledged, the great 
apostasy; when men began to heap contempt upon 
the Sabbath to spite the Jews, and to elevate the 
Sunday to conciliate their heathen neighbors, and 
by so doing did despite to the word of God, and in- 
troduced those elements of apostasy and corruption 
which ruined the church, and sent a shout of tri- 
umph through .all the realms of darkness. 
« 

show? 39. What is the true teaching of Kev. 1:10? 40. 
To what conclusions are we thus led? 41. Where do we 
find the change of the day and the real institution of the 
Sunday Sabbath? 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



Baptism. — Its Relation to the Divine Law 
in the Work of True Conversion, 

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those 
things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the 
right hand of God." Col. 3 : 1. 

This scripture has been applied to three things: 1. 
To a resurrection from dead works in being re- 
claimed from a backslidden state ; 2. To the literal 
resurrection of the just at the second coming of 
Christ ; 3. To being raised up out of the water in 
baptism. 

We inquire, To which of the three do the words 
"risen with Christ" apply? 

1. Not to the first; for Christ never had a res- 
urrection from dead works. He was without sin. 
Mark this: Whatever this resurrection may be, 
Christ had one like it; for it is a resurrection with 
him. 

2. The text cannot refer to the physical resurrection 
of the just; for the seeking time is then in the past, 
and the saints themselves are above. The seeking 
of the heavenly treasure is before it is given, at the 
resurrection. We are then shut up to the position 
that — 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN. 

1. Quote the text at the head of this chapter. 2. What 
is the first thing to which it has been applied? 3. The sec- 

(283) 



284 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

3. The text does refer to water baptism. Here 
the follower of Christ has a resurrection with his 
Master. In death, Christ was laid in the grave, 
from which he arose by the power of God. So his 
followers are laid in the water in baptism, and are 
raised up out of the water. 

But positive proof is found in chap. 2:12, that 
the disciple is raised with Christ in baptism: "Bur- 
ied with him by baptism wherein also ye are risen 
with him through the faith of the operation of God, 
who hath raised him from the dead." Here no- 
tice : — 

1. The text plainly states that in baptism we are 
buried and risen with Christ. 

2. This is done in the faith that the Father raised 
his Son from the dead. In the morning of the first 
day of the week God operated in the resurrection of 
Jesus, and baptism is received in faith of it. 

Again the apostle speaks to the point to the 
church at Rome: " Therefore we are buried with 
him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was 
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, 
even so we also should walk in newness of life." 
Rom. 6:4. 

The following points are worthy of notice: — 

1. The disciple is buried in the water, and raised 
up out of the water in faith of the burial and resur- 
rection of Christ, and in faith of the resurrection of 
the j ust at the coming of Christ.- 

2. And as Christ entered upon a new life at his 
resurrection, so the new life of the Christian prop- 

ond? 4. The third? 5. Why can it not refer to the first 
or second? 6. To what does it refer? 7. Where is positive 
proof of this found, and why? 8. What is Paul's testimony 
to the Romans on this subject? 9. What points are worthy 
of notice here? 10. What is the Bible standard of judg- 



BAPTISM. 285 

erly commences at baptism. And while many 
doubtless will be saved who have never been im- 
mersed, those who have the clear light upon these 
subjects will be judged according to that light, and 
the manner in which they walk in that light. The 
Bible standard of truth and duty is the only safe 
one. Those who take up with an antiscriptural 
baptism and Sabbath because the founders of their 
churches, when just emerging from the darkness of 
Papal error, brought them into different branches of 
the Protestant churches, run fearful risks. 

The apostle prescribes the form of baptism in the 
strongest terms. He not only uses the word "bur- 
ied," but in Rom. 6:5 he uses even stronger lan- 
guage, if possible: "For if we have been planted 
together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also 
in the likeness of his resurrection." What should 
we think of the farmer who would sprinkle a few 
grains of sand on his seeds, and say that he had bur- 
ied them? But planting seems a strange figure. 

But let it be particularly noticed that the very 
manner or likeness of burial in baptism is distinctly 
stated. It is to be done in the likeness of Christ's 
death. The reader will please go with us to Joseph's 
new sepulcher, and see the dear Saviour lying there 
upon his back as we lay out the dead. The very 
position in the water is to be in imitation of Christ's 
in death. Can this be done by sprinkling a few 
drops of water into a babe's face? — Answer: 
"Planted in the likeness of his death." Can it be 
accomplished by pouring a gill of water on the head 



ment on this matter] 11. In what language does the apos- 
tle set forth the form of baptism? 12. How is this illustrated 
in the work of the husbandman? 13. What is the force 
of the words, "likeness of Christ's death"? 14. Why can- 



286 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

of the candidate to run down the clothing? Is 
there the least resemblance in this dabbling in 
water to the position of Christ in the tomb? A 
complete refutation of this error is found in the 
words used by the apostle, " buried " — " planted." 

Will it not do quite as well to plunge the candi- 
date into the water face foremost, as the Dunkards 
do? We inquire, Did the friends of Jesus place 
their dear Lord in the sepulcher upon his face? 
The thought is revolting. Again we reply in the 
words of Paul: "Planted in the likeness of his 
death." 

Three events in the histor}^ of the first advent of 
Cfirist represent three steps in leaving a life of sin, 
and reaching that of obedience. These are (1.) his 
crucifixion, (2.) his burial, and (3.) his resurrection. 
The sinner is first crucified with Christ. " Know- 
ing this, that our old man is crucified with him, 
that the body of sin might be destroyed." . Rom. 6: 
6. This crucifixion represents true conviction of 
sin. It is spoken of in the same epistle under the 
figure of death. " What shall we say then? Is the 
law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, 
but by the law. For I had not known lust, except 
the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, 
taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in 
me all manner of concupiscence. For without the 
law, sin was dead. For I was alive without the law 
once; but when the commandment came, sin re- 
vived, and I died." Chap. 7:7-9. Please notice: — 

1. The instrument by which the sinner is crucified, 
is slain, truly convicted, is the moral code. 

not the candidate be plunged into the water face foremost? 
15. What three events in the history of the first advent rep- 
resent three steps in the sinner's conversion? 16. What is 
the instrument by which the sinner is slain? 17. What does 



BAPTISM. 287 

2. That Paul means the ten commandments in the 
use of the word law is evident from the fact that he 
refers to the tenth precept of that code as especially 
instrumental in his case. 

3. The word alive does not refer to natural life, 
but to a careless state of the mind, when without a 
true sense of the holiness of God's law. Neither does 
death refer to the cessation of natural life, but to true 
conviction of sins by the light of the sacred law. * 

The second step in conversion is burial with Christ 
by baptism. " Therefore, we are buried with him 
by baptism into death." Rom. 6:4. Here the 
burial of Christ, or his position in the sepulcher, rep- 
resents the true mode of baptism. 

The third step in conversion is a resurrection with 
Christ from a watery grave. "If ye then be risen 
with Christ." Col. 3:1. 

We now see the relation which baptism sustains 
to the law of God in Scriptural conversion. With 
correct views of the mode of baptism, and what is 
meant by law, all is plain. The apostle is giving in 
this connection his own experience, hence those who 
seek apostolic religion should mark well the means 
employed in his case. The moral code is the great 
mirror into which he looked and saw the imperfec- 
tions of his moral character. This prepared the way 
for him to come to Christ for pardon and j ustification 
through his precious blood. This epistle to the Ro- 
mans was written in the year 60, about thirty years 
after the handwriting of ordinances was nailed to 
the cross. Paul's conversion occurred several years 

Paul mean by the word "law"? 18. What does he mean 
by the words, "alive," and " death "? 19. What is the sec- 
ond step in conversion? Reference. 20. What is the third 
step? Reference. 21. What is shown by these scriptures? 
22. What does the apostle give in this connection? 23. By 



288 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

after the abolition of the Jewish system of worship. 

The apostle James illustrates the use of the royal 
law by a looking-glass: "But be ye doers of the 
word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own 
selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not 
a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural 
face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth 
his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner 
of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect 
law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not 
a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man 
shall be blessed in his deed." Chap. 1 : 22-25. 

The first great work, then, of the gospel minister, 
as he labors for the conversion of sinners, is to hold 
before them the law, that looking therein as into a 
mirror, they may see what sin is, and know its ex- 
ceeding sinfulness. The reason why many who pro- 
fess religion were never converted is because they 
were not convicted, and the reason why they did 
not have genuine conviction is because they have 
never seen the corruptions of the heart in God's mir- 
ror, the ten commandments. A popular gospel 
keeps that from the people, and moves upon the 
sinner's sympathies and fears, producing a convic- 
tion more nervous than intelligent. Such conviction 
does not result in a change of life, as required by the 
sacred Scriptures. Intelligent conviction produced 
by the claims of the law of God changes the mind, 
the heart, and the life. This change is illustrated 
in the text by the change from life to death. A 
man walks to-day in the strength of manhood, to- 



what does James illustrate the use of the law? 24. What is 
the first work of the gospel minister in laboring for the con- 
version of sinners ? 25. Why is it that so many who profess 
religion are not converted ? 2G. What results from intelli- 



BAPTISM. 289 

morrow he is a corpse. What a change ! Yet in- 
spiration has chosen it to illustrate the first great 
work in true conversion. 

Thus far we have followed the apostle in his ex- 
perience, and have learned from him the character 
and use of the law of God in the present dispensation. 
He saw its excellence, its holiness, its justice and 
goodness, and felt its searching, slaying power, and 
says, "I died." But he does not leave us here. 
Burial follows death. 

But what is the pre-requisite, or scriptural prep- 
aration for the ordinance of baptism ? , When viewed 
in the light of a burial, or funeral, the answer is at 
hand. Before burying our dead, we must feel as- 
sured that they are really dead. So, before burial 
with Christ by baptism, we should know that the 
candidate has experienced that conviction that may 
be represented by death, that he has been crucified 
with Christ. The thought of being buried alive is 
terrible. And it should be no less so to the thorough 
Christian to think of being buried in baptism while 
using tobacco, or wearing jewelry and other out- 
ward ornaments forbidden in the word of God. But 
to lay these aside for the occasion effects no real 
change in the candidate. When the sinner really 
dies to sin, these drop off never to return. 

But would you not have the candidate wait until 
he has experienced the love of God, and comes out 
shouting happy before receiving baptism ? — Not un- 
less there is some precept or example of the kind in 
the New Testament. There is nothing joyful in the 



gent conviction produced by the law ? 27. By what is this 
change illustrated ? 28. What is the pre-requisite of bap- 
tism? 29. What will give evidence of this scriptural death? 
$0. Should the candidate wait for joyful emotions before 

19 



290 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

burial of our dead friends. Joyful feelings are no 
Scriptural evidence of preparation for baptism. 
Brokenness of spirit, with tears, confessions, and 
mourning on account of sins, and feelings of un- 
worthiness, would be better evidences of preparation 
of mind and heart for that ordinance. The New 
Testament furnishes evidence that the truly con- 
victed person should not wait a single hour. In 
fact, every instance of baptism furnishes evidence 
that the truly convicted soul should not wait. 

We first cite the case of Saul. No one questions 
his conversion. The work was accomplished in him 
by the word and Spirit of God. We have seen what 
the moral code did for him. And if it be thought 
necessary that the Holy Spirit act a part in convic- 
tion and conversion, then we cite Saul's experience 
as he was on his way to Damascus to persecute the 
saints. Most certainly the Spirit of God will work 
in harmony with ? the law of God. The Lord, who 
appeared to Saul in the way, sent him to Ananias to 
be instructed more fully. Jesus might have shown 
Saul his whole duty, and thus set aside all human 
instrumentality, but he chose to honor the instru- 
mentalities he had placed in the church. This great 
man must sit at the feet of Ananias, and there learn 
his first duty. By the hand of Ananias, Saul first 
received his sight. "And now," says Ananias, 
" why tarriest thou ? Arise and be baptized. " Acts 
22: 16. Thus baptism came next, and there was no 
occasion for waiting. In this remarkable conversion 
of a great man, baptism followed immediately after 
conviction of sin. 

baptism? 31. What would rather be suggested by the illus- 
tration of burial? 32. What evidence does the New Testa- 
ment furnish? 33. What were the great features of Saul's 
conversion? 34. How long did he wait before baptism? 



BAPTISM. 291 

The case of the jailer is another instance showing 
that baptism closely followed conviction. Acts 16: 
25-33. The case of the eunuch is also to the point. 
Acts 8:26-40. 

The question especially under consideration is that 
baptism immediately follows true conviction of sin. 
Did Philip tell the eunuch that he would better wait 
three or six months, and that at some more conven- 
ient season they could have a large gathering, at 
which time the ordinance could be administered be- 
fore the crowds? The record does not mention any 
such delays. No; the coachman is commanded to 
halt right there, and then and there "they went 
down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, 
and he baptized him. And when they were come up 
out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away 
Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more, and he 
went on his way rejoicing." Acts 8: 26-40. Here, 
again, rejoicing does not go before, but follows bap- 
tism. 

Still the comforts of the Holy Spirit are in many 
instances experienced before being baptized; but 
when the subject is presented in the true light, and 
the several steps in leaving a life of sin for one of 
obedience and holiness are taken in rapid succession, 
according to the examples given in the New Testa- 
ment, the rejoicing in hope will be after baptism. 
The descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a 
dove upon Christ after his baptism greatly strength- 
ens this position. 

Baptism is thus closely related to conversion. In 

35. What is shown by the case of the jailer? 36. What is 
the next case in point? 37. What is the point to be espe- 
cially noticed here? 38. What bearing has the baptism of 
Christ upon this jDart of the subject? 39. What relation, 
then, has baptism to conversion? 40. What use is some- 



292 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

V 

fact, it seems to be a part of conversion. It is the 
outward act by which believers show their faith in 
Christ. But while some have removed baptism from 
this close relation to conversion, and regard the or- 
dinance of little importance, others regard it as the 
act by which sins are remitted. Those who regard bap- 
tism as of little importance, sometimes cite 1 Peter 
3:21, as sustaining their lax position: " The like 
figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save 
us, not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but 
the answer of a good conscience toward God by the 
resurrection of Jesus Christ." " I was sprinkled," 
says one, "and that answered my conscience." 
"And my conscience was answered by being poured," 
says another. This may all be true; but are our 
friends, who differ with us on baptism, sure that 
they have a good conscience on this subject? Peter 
says : " But the answer of a good conscience." Pa- 
gans and papists may be very conscientious, and 
their blinded consciences not be good. Protestants 
may be in a like condition on some points. But it 
is a fact of much interest that the apostle, in the last 
clause of the passage, raises a standard to which we 
may bring our consciences, and know that they are 
right. It is this — "by the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ from the dead." On the other hand, some 
evidently overlook the necessary work to be wrought 
upon the mind and heart before baptism. They do 
not see the use of the divine law, that it must slay 
the sinner, that he be dead before he is buried, hence 
it is to be feared that some, at least, are buried alive ! 
Some teach that Christ is put on in the simple act of 



times made of 1 Pet. 1:23? 41. What may be said about 
the conscience in these cases? 42. What is the standard 
given to which we are to bring our consciences ? 43. What 



BAPTISM. 293 

baptism, which teaching has a strong tendency to 
set aside not only the work of the law of God in 
conversion, but that also of the Holy Spirit. 

But Gal. 3:27 may be urged: "For as many of 
you as have been baptized into Christ have put on 
Christ." It should here be noticed that the text 
does not say that the Galatian brethren had put on 
Christ in the sole act of baptism. They had put on 
Christ by faith, baptism being the corresponding 
work, an act by which they manifested their faith 
in Christ. 

It is also asserted that baptism is for the remission 
of sins. Very true; but there are also other means 
for the remission of sins. Christ's blood was shed 
for the remission of sins. Matt. 26 : 28. Christ was 
to give knowledge of salvation unto the people for 
the remission of their sins. Luke 1 : 77. It became 
Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third 
day, that repentance and remission of sins might be 
preached in his name. Chap. 24 : 46, 47. Repent- 
ance and baptism are for the remission of sins. 
Acts 2 : 38. Faith is for the remission of sins. 
"Whosoever belie veth in him shall receive remission 
of sins." Chap. 10:43; also Rom. 3:25. In the ar- 
rangement for the remission of sins, baptism holds 
its place in the divine whole. 

In the investigation of the subject of scriptural 
conversion thus far, we see that it is by the divine 
law that the sinner obtains a knowledge of his sins. 
He cannot understandingly repent of his sins until 
he sees them; therefore the gospel minister, who 
labors to convert the sinner, is under the most solemn 



is taught by some classes? 44. JVhat is shown by Gal. 3: 
27? 45. What may be said on the declaration that baptism 
is for the remission of sin? 46. How does the sinner obtam 



294 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

obligation to hold before him God's great mirror. 
His first work is to show the character, perpetuity, 
and claims of the moral code. 

The sinner sees the holiness and justness of the 
divine law, that he is exposed to the wrath of God, 
and feels its slaying power. He yields to the re- 
quirements of all its precepts, and is dead. The gos- 
pel then points him to Jesus. He hears the story of 
the cross, the burial in Joseph's sepulcher, the glory 
of the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus to 
the Father's right hand, where he ever lives to in- 
tercede for poor sinners. He raises his head, and 
ventures to believe that Jesus will pity and save 
him. And as he believes, let him immediately show 
his faith in the burial and resurrection of Christ by 
being baptized. 

He has now put off the "old man," and has put 
on the "new man." The Christian warfare and 
race is begun. He has now the faith of the gospel, 
and the exhortation of Peter is especially applicable: 
"Giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue; and 
to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temper- 
ance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, 
godliness ; and to godliness, brotherly kindness ; and 
to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things 
be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall 
neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of 
our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. 1 : 5-8. 

In the present dispensation, God the Father is our 
lawgiver, and Christ is our advocate. And before 
sinners can be benefited by the mediation of Christ, 
they must manifest repentance toward the Lawgiver 

a knowledge of his sins? 47. What view does this give him 
of the law? 48. To what does the gospel then point him ? 
49. What does the sinner then do ? 50. Who then is our 
lawgiver? 51. What office does Jesus Christ perform? 52. 



BAPTISM. 295 

for the transgression of his holy law. With this the 
words of the beloved disciple agree: "Sin is the 
transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4. " And if 
any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, 
Jesus Christ the righteous." Chap. 2:1. 

But if Christ is our lawgiver, as some teach, who 
is our advocate? We have none. But as Jesus 
Christ is the sinner's advocate with the Father 
in this dispensation, it follows that the Father's law 
of ten commandments is in full force. 

" Do we then make void the law through faith? 
God forbid; yea, we establish the law." Rom. 3: 
31. Faith in Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for sin, and 
now an advocate with the Father for our sins — 
"transgression of the law" — is the strongest proof 
of the perpetuity of the law of ten commandments. 

Hence the closing testimony of the third angel: 
"Here is the patience of the saints; here are they 
that keep the commandments of God and the faith 
of Jesus." Rev. 14: 12. Also, the dragon is to make 
war with the remnant, the Christians in the closing 
generations of time, " which keep the command- 
ments of God, and have the testimonv of Jesus 
Christ." Chap. 12:17. 

These are Christian commandment-keepers. Their 
observance of the Sabbath of the fourth command- 
ment stirs the ire of the dragon host. 

But those who endure his wrath, and stand faith- 
ful in the closing conflict, will soon receive the great 
reward promised by Him who says (Rev. 22), "Be- 
hold I come quickly, and my reward is with me." 

If Christ is our lawgiver, who is our advocate ? 53. "What 
do these facts show respecting the perpetuity of the law? 

54. What is the closing testimony of the third message ? 

55. What are the characteristics of the remnant, of Rev. 
12:17? 56. What is the promise of Christ in Rev, 22:14? 



CHAPTER XXVIII, 



Gifts of the Spirit 

Paul, in 2 Cor. 3, calls this dispensation, in com- 
parison with the former, the " ministration of the 
Spirit." From this it appears that this dispensation 
was to be characterized by the outpouring and in- 
fluence of the Spirit of God. In the prophecy 
which brings it to view (Joel 2 : 28), quoted by Peter 
on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17), the Lord says: 
" And it shall come to pass in the last days, I will 
pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh." The last 
days here signify the whole gospel dispensation; 
and they are the last when taken in connection 
with the whole history of the world from the time 
of its creation, six thousand years ago. 

The effect of this outpouring of the Spirit on all 
flesh was to be seen in the following results: " Your 
sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your 
young men shall see visions, and your old men shall 
dream dreams." 

When we speak of the doctrine of the gifts of the 



QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT. 

1. What is this dispensation called by the apostle? 2. 
By what is it to be characterized? 3. What prophecy brings 
it to view? 4. What does the prophecy declare? 5. What 
do the last days here signify ? 6. How can this whole dis- 
rjensation be called the last days? 7. How was the effect 
of this outpouring of the Spirit to be seen? 8. What is 
meant by the doctrine of the gifts of the Spirit ? 9. What 
[296] 



GIFTS OF THE SPIMT. 297 

Spirit, we simply mean the operation of the Spirit 
in the ways here indicated; and that the Spirit was 
designed to operate in this manner through this dis- 
pensation, much proof can be found in the New 
Testament. In his last commission to his disciples, 
Jesus said: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto 
the end of the world." Mark, in recording this, 
shows the manner in which he would be with them : 
"And these signs shall follow them that believe." 
Verse 17. And again, verse 20: "And they went 
forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working 
with them, and confirming the word with signs 
following." 

This was the way in which our Lord continued 
with his disciples ; it was through the influence and 
operations of the Holy Spirit ; and that this was to 
continue to the end is certain from his own prom- 
ise: " Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of 
the world." 

Peter, on the day of Pentecost, said to those who 
were convicted: "Repent, and be baptized, every 
one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the re- 
mission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to 
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as 
many as the Lord our God shall call." This shows 
again that the promise of the Holy Ghost covers the 
whole dispensation, and was to continue to the end. 

Paul, in 1 Cor. 12, dwells upon this subject in 
full. He says: "Now concerning spiritual gifts, 

did Christ in his last commission say to his disciples? 10. 
What does Mark's record show? 11. How was Christ with 
his disciples? 12. How long was he to continue to be with 
them in this manner? 13. What did Peter say to those con- 
victed on the day of Pentecost? 14. What do Peter's words 
show? 15. Where does Paul take up the subject at length? 



298 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TPUTH. 

brethren, I would not have you ignorant." Yerse 
1. In verse 4 he continues: "Now there are di- 
versities of gifts, but the same Spirit" (verse 6); 
"And there are diversities of operations, but it is 
the same God which worketh all in all. But the 
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to 
profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the 
word of wisdom ; to another the word of knowledge 
by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same 
Spirit ; to another the gifts of healing by the same 
Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to an- 
other prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to 
another divers kinds of tongues; to another the in- 
terpretation of tongues. But all these worketh that 
one and the self -same Spirit, dividing to every man 
severally as he will." 

Here it is very clearly stated that all the opera- 
tions are the work of the same Spirit ; they are sim- 
ply the different channels through which it mani- 
fests its presence. Paul proceeds to illustrate this 
by reference to the human body, with its different 
members, and the particular offices which these 
members are to perform; and in making this appli- 
cation at the conclusion of the chapter, he says: 
"Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in 
particular. And God hath set some in the church, 
first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, 
after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, 
governments, diversities of tongues." 

That these gifts were once in the church, all must 
admit; for Ave are assured that God formally and 

16. What source do all the diversities of gifts have in com- 
mon? 17. What different operations are here mentioned? 
18. By what does Paul now illustrate his subject? 19. 
What application does he make ? 20. What conclusion fol- 
lows from the statement that God has set these gifts in the 



GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT. 299 

officially set them in the church. And who has 
taken them out of the church? If God has done 
this, should it not be recorded in as explicit a man- 
ner as that he once established them therein? 

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul again takes 
up the subject. He says (Eph. 4:11): " And he gave 
some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and some, evan- 
gelists; and some, pastors and teachers." These 
gifts, are called, in verse 8, "gifts" which he gave 
unto men " when he ascended up on high." 

Now he states that the object of these gifts was 
for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the 
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. 

He states how long they were to continue; 
namely, " Till we all come in the unity of the 
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto 
a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of 
the fullness of Christ." 

In view of the design of these gifts, as here stated, 
it will be seen at once that they are just as much 
needed at one point in this dispensation as in any 
other; just as necessary in the closing up as in the 
beginning. Some say these gifts were needed when 
the gospel was first introduced, but the necessity 
having passed away, they are now no longer de- 
manded. We ask, then, is not the unity of faith, 
the knowledge of the Son of God, and the attain- 
ment unto the measure of the stature of the full- 
ness of Christ still desirable in the Christian dispen- 
sation ? 

But if we may judge from the practices of the 

church? 21. What does Paul say in Eph. 4:11 ? 22, What 
are these things called ? 23. What does he state as the ob- 
ject of these gifts ? 24. To "what time does he say they 
were to continue? 25. What follows from this? 26. What 
objection is raised by some 1 27. How is it answered ? 28. 



300 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

whole Christian world, they believe in only a partial 
abolition of these gifts of the Spirit. Do they not 
have evangelists? Do they not ordain pastors? Do 
they not believe in teachers? On what ground? — 
Because Christ commanded his disciples to go forth 
and teach all nations, and to continue this work even 
to the end of the world. But the commission did 
not limit the work to these branches, but promised 
the gift of the Spirit, as we have already shown, in 
its diversities of operations to the end of the world. 
If we take this ground, that the gifts have been 
taken from the church, that the operation of the 
Spirit in these special methods was designed to 
cease, and has ceased, then we must no longer plead 
for evangelists, pastors, teachers, nor sustain by any 
special means the work of the ministry. 

If these gifts were to continue through the Chris- 
tian dispensation, it is asked, why have we not all 
along examples of their manifestation? We answer 
that there have been instances in every age of the 
operation of the Spirit in some of these marked and 
special ways. The reason of their being no more 
frequent is found in the occurrence of the great 
apostasy so plainly predicted in the Christian church. 
Men have departed from God. All Christendom has 
been sunk in the darkness of error and superstition 
with which the world has been flooded by the 
Komish church. The true children of God have 
been few and obscm^e. 



What does the practice of the Christian world show? 29. 
What gifts do they still employ? 30. What is their author- 
ity for this ? 31. What else was promised? 32. If the 
gifts have ceased, what position must we take in reference 
to pastors, evangelists, and teachers ? 33. Have there been 
examples of the gifts in every age? 34. Why have they 
not been more frequent ? 35. In what works is found abun- 



GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT. 301 

For examples of the manifestations of these gifts 
in the gospel age, the reader is referred to books en- 
titled, "Miraculous Powers" and the " Spirit of God," 
published at the Review and Herald Office, Battle 
Creek, Mich. 

It might be expected that so important an agency 
in the Christian church would be counterfeited by 
the powers of darkness; hence we have the injunc- 
tion, "Try the spirits;" and the warning is also 
given us that many false prophets have gone out 
into the world. We are called upon to discriminate 
carefully between the true and the false. We are not 
to reject all gifts because some of them are counter- 
feited. We do not throw away money, or refuse its 
use, because there are counterfeits in the land. 
Everything valuable we must expect to be counter- 
feited. We guard ourselves by learning how to test 
the false by the true. 

On the subject of the gifts our Lord gives us an 
infallible rule: "By their fruits ye shall know them." 
See Deut. 13:1; 18:21. If that which is predicted 
by the prophet comes not to pass, it is proof that he 
is not sent of God ; but even if it does come to pass, 
if its tendency is to lead away from God, it is to be 
rejected as false. The spiritualists of these modern 



dant testimony showing instances of their manifestation? 
36. What kind of opposition might be expected ? 37. What 
instructions are therefore given us ? 38. How are we to 
guard ourselves against deception in this matter? 39. What 
rule does our Lord give us by which to test those manifesta- 
tions which claim to be gifts of the Spirit ? 40. If an event 
predicted does not come to pass, what is the conclusion 1 

41. If what the prophet says does come to pass, but he 
leads away from the true God, what is the conclusion then I 

42. What two great religious movements of these days fur- 
nish examples under both these heads ? 43. What should 



302 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

times, and the Mormons, furnish remarkable in- 
stances under both these heads. 

We have referred to a prophecy which speaks of 
this dispensation in general, and proves the existence 
of the gifts throughout the gospel age. We have 
seen why they have been so rarely manifested ;— it is 
because of the great apostasy. Now, as the church 
comes out from the wilderness and the errors of the 
dark ages, by true and genuine reformation, we 
naturally conclude that the gifts will be restored, 
and that this dispensation will close, as it com- 
menced, with remarkable manifestations of the work 
of the Spirit of God. 

In accordance with this, we have prophecies which 
plainly point to the revival of the gifts in the clos- 
ing days of this dispensation. See Rev. 12:17: 
" And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and 
went to make war with the remnant of her seed, 
which keep the commandments of God, and have 
the testimony of Jesus Christ." By the woman we 
are to understand the church ; by her seed, the 
members of the church throughout this dispensa- 
tion. Therefore the remant of her seed can refer 
to only one body of people, the last generation of 
Christians upon the earth. These are characterized 
by keeping the commandments of God. and having 
the testimony of Jesus Christ. In Rev. 19: ]0 we 
have the definition of what is here called "the tes- 
timony of Jesus Christ." Said the angel to John, 
"The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." 

we naturally conclude would take place in the last days ? 
44. What do we have to sustain this idea ? 45. What is 
the testimony of Rev. 12 17 ? 46. What is meant by the 
woman? 47. What by her seed? 48. Where, then, do we 
look for the remnant of the woman's seed? 49. By what 
is this remnant characterized ? 50. What is the testimony 



GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT. 303 

This the reader will at once recognize as one of the 
gifts set in the church. 

1 Cor. 1:6, 7 shows that the church that is 
waiting for the coming of Christ is to come behind 
in no gift. The 5 th chapter of 1 Thess. is evidently 
addressed to the church when the day of the Lord 
is about to come. In that chapter we have this in- 
struction from the apostle: "Despise not prophesy- 
ings;" showing that these will then appear in the 
church. And we may reasonably infer that the 
prophecy of Joel 2:1, 28, 31, quoted by Peter in 
Acts 2, being given in reference to the coming of 
the great day of the Lord, would be fulfilled in as 
remarkable a manner as we draw near to that day, 
as it had been in any part of the gospel dispensa- 
tion. That the gift of prophecy is manifested, ac- 
cording to the Scriptures, in connection with the 
third angel's message, we refer the reader to works 
published at the Review and Herald Office, entitled 
the "Spirit of Prophecy," and the "Testimony to 
the Church." 



of Jesus defined to mean, and where ? 51. What is shown 
by 1 Cor. 1 : 6, 7 ? 52. To whom is the 5th chapter of 1 
Thessalonians addressed 1 53. What instruction do we 
there find? 54. "What is shown by this? 55. What may 
we reasonably expect, as we draw near to the great day of 
the Lord ? 56. What works show that the spirit of prophecy 
is manifested in connection with the third ansrel's message 1 




CHAPTER XXIX. 



Predestination. 

That the Bible teaches predestination, is true; 
that it teaches what modern theology defines the term 
to mean, we think is not true. As set forth in the 
Scriptures, it is a doctrine full of comfort and conso- 
lation ; as taught in the creeds, it is full of spiritual 
paralysis and despair. In the Scriptures, it is the as- 
surance of salvation so long as we maintain a certain 
relation to God ; in theology, it is a relation deter- 
mined for us independently of our own will, and a 
fixed destiny to a life which we cannot lose, or a 
death which we cannot avert. Webster defines the 
word " predestination " in its theological acceptation 
to mean, " The purpose of God from eternity respect- 
ing all events ; often the pre-assignment or allotment 
of men to everlasting happiness or misery." 

The tendency of this latter doctrine must be at 
once apparent. It leads the individual to throw off 
all responsibility, and intermit all efforts for himself. 
He says, If my destiny has been fixed from all eter- 
nity by an irreversible decree, I might as well resign 
myself to my fate, and let the current take me 
where it has been predetermined that it shall take 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE. 

1. What may be said of the Bible view of predestination? 

2. What of the theological view ? 3. What is the contrast 

between these two views ? 4. What is Webster's definition 

of the term? 5. What is the tendency of the popular view? 

(304) 



PKEDESTINATION. 305 

me: if I am to be saved, I shall be saved, and no one 
can prevent it ; if I am to be lost, I cannot avoid it. 

It is impossible to arouse such a soul to repent- 
ance. The answer comes, If I am to repent, God 
will make me repent when the time comes; and I 
need not concern myself about it. Such an one can- 
not be induced to heed the divine inj unction to flee 
from the wrath to come; for he says, If I am ap- 
pointed to that wrath, flee as I will, I cannot avoid 
it; and if not, then for me there is no wrath to 
come. 

We once heard of a Presbyterian minister, who, by 
some strange infatuation, conceived the idea that a 
certain one of his two sons was elected to be saved, 
and so taught him ; but he considered that the other 
was fore-ordained to be lost, and taught him accord- 
ingly. Result: The elect son has entered the minis- 
try; the reprobate is on the high road to that dam- 
nation which his father has held up before him as 
his inevitable portion. If that son is lost, what re- 
sponsibility will rest upon that father ! Give a man 
the natural inclinations of the heart to contend with, 
and then teach him that heaven is to him an impos- 
sibility, and it need not take long to divine what 
the result will be. 

Four times the word " predestinate " is used in 
the Scriptures, twice in Romans 8, and twice in 
Ephesians 1. Once we have the word "fore-ordain." 
1 Peter 1 : 20. The word " ordain " is also used 
four times with a future signification. Six times 
we have the word "election," and twenty times the 
word " elect." 

6. How does it hinder repentance ? 7. What instance is 
mentioned in illustration ? 8. How many times is the word 
"predestinate" found in the Scriptures? 9. How many 
times is " fore-ordain " used? 10. How many times the word 

20 



30t> SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

The meaning of the word " election " is a " choos- 
ing out, selecting;" and the elect are simply those 
who are ''chosen out" by God, as the recipients of 
special privileges, because they are "choice" and 
"precious" in his sight. The question is whether 
this "choosing out " is an act absolutely arbitrary on 
the part of God with reference to individuals, or 
whether it pertains to a certain plane of life or to a 
people as a class, and reaches the individual only on 
conditions which he is himself to supply. 

Let appeal be made to the leading texts upon this 
question. And as a direction to thought, let them 
be considered with reference to these propositions: 1. 
God " hath appointed " (Luke 22 : 29), or fore-or- 
dained, Jesus Christ to the kingship of this world. 
This he did "before the foundation of the world" 
(1 Peter 1 : 20) ; that is, this fore-ordination was co- 
eval with his purpose to create the world. It was 
not ordained on what ground he should finally hold 
this position. Had man never sinned, it would have 
been on the ground of Creatorship alone ; but since 
man fell, and the original purpose could then be car- 
ried out only by his redemption, Christ will hold his 
position by virtue of being both Creator and Re- 
deemer, 2. God has ordained that all who will con- 
form to the image of his Son shall be saved. Such 



"election " ? 11. How many times the word " elect " ? 12. 
What is the meaning of the word "election"? 13. Who 
are therefore "the elect"? 14. What is the question to be 
here decided? 15. What hath God "appointed"? 16. 
When did he do this ? 17. On what ground was it ordained 
that Christ should be head and ruler of this world? 18. 
How would it have been if man never had sinned? 19. 
Since man has sinned, on what ground will Christ hold his 
position at last? 20. What has God ordained respecting 
our relation to Christ? 21. What are those called who con- 
form to his image ? 22. How does this election control in- 



PREDESTINATION. 307 

are the elect. But 3. He has not ordained that such 
and such individuals shall believe on Christ and be 
saved, whether they will or not ; and such and such 
other individuals cannot believe on Christ, however 
willingly they would do so, and hence must be lost 
at last. On the question of accepting or rejecting 
Christ, our own free moral agency operates. On the 
plane of belief in Christ or connection with him, 
God's fore-ordination or election operates. Reaching 
that plane, we are its subjects, and become the elect. 
Falling from it, we lose our title to life, and cease to 
be the elect. Hence we are exhorted to make our 
"calling and election sure." 2 Peter 1:10. We 
may accept or reject Christ as we will. All else is 
beyond our control. Believing in him, we are elected 
and fore-ordained to be saved, as surely as God's 
throne is to stand; rejecting him, we are as sure to 
be lost as sin is to be punished. 

1. In Eph. 1:4, 5 the "choosing" and "predes- 
tination" is "in him," that is, in Christ. We are 
adopted as children to himself "by Jesus Christ." 
But if we reject Christ, we frustrate all these good 
purposes and promises, so far as our own cases are 
concerned. 

2. Rom. 8:29, 30 doubtless refers to the com- 
pany raised at the resurrection of Christ, among 
whom he was the "first-born " who were "justified," 
that is, were accepted in anticipation of the general 
Judgment, and also "glorified" when he led them 



dividuals ? 23. On what question does our free moral 
agency operate ? 24. On what plane does the law of God's 
fore-ordination operate 1 25. What exhortation is given in 
2 Pet. 1: 10 ? 26. How much is subject to our control? 27. 
Believing in him, what is sure to us? 28. Rejecting him, 
what is our doom? 29. Explain Eph. 1:4, 5. 30. To whom 
does Rom. 8:29, 30 doubtless refer? 31. How are we 



308 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

up with him on high (Eph. 4 : 8, margin) to be his 
assistants in his mediatorial work. m Rev. 5: 8-10. 
If this application is correct, the testimony refers to 
a particular case, not to the destiny of men in gen- 
eral. 

3. In 2 Thess. 2:13 it is said that "God hath 
from the beginning chosen you to salvation ; " but 
the apostle immediately limits the statement by add- 
ing, "through sanctification of the Spirit and belief 
of the truth." But suppose the Thessalonians had 
rejected the Spirit, and refused to believe the truth, 
as they certainly were free to do, where, then, would 
have been their salvation ? 

4. Another expression, found in 2 Tim. 1:9, is 
supposed to prove election before the world was: 
" Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy 
calling, not according to our works, but according to 
his own purpose and grace which was given us in 
Christ Jesus before the world began." As to the 
time, the Greek reads, irgb xpovuv aluviuv ^prochronon 
aionion), "before the ages of time." But al6v in 
many instances means simply " a dispensation; " and 
the passage may refer to the time when the plan of 
salvation, with its different dispensations, was laid. 
That which was given us at this time was the 
"grace," or favor, of God; but this was "in Christ 
Jesus." Now if any man rejects Christ, what grace 
does he receive? — None. 

5. 1 Peter 1:1, 2. The English version of this 
passage makes the strangers of Pontus, Galatia, etc., 
" elect according to the foreknowledge of God." In 

chosen from the beginning, as set forth in 2 Thess. 2:13? 

32. Were the Thessalonians free to reject the conditions? 

33. What is the expression found in 2 Tim. 1:9? 34. What 
may it mean ? 35. What is asserted of God's foreknowledge 
in 1 Pet. 1:1, 2? 36. How is Acts 13:48 explained? 37. 



PREDESTINATION. 309 

the original, however, they are addressed simply as 
" the elect sojourners. " So the revised version reads : 
" Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect who 
are sojourners of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, 
according to the foreknowledge of God." Now all 
that is asserted respecting God's foreknowledge is 
this : Either Peter was an apostle according to the 
foreknowledge of God, or the elect whom he ad- 
dresses (elect according to the principle stated above) 
were sojourners according to the foreknowledge of 
God. But in either case it has no bearing on the 
question of predestination, as here under discussion. 

6. " As many as were ordained to eternal life be- 
lieved." This expression is found in Acts 13:48; 
and it is asked if this does not prove that certain 
ones believed because they were fore-ordained to eter- 
nal life, and hence were elected to believe and be 
saved. The word rendered " ordained " is raaau 
(tasso), and it means "to appoint, set, arrange, dis- 
pose, or frame " for any object. In the light of this 
definition, all difficulty disappears. As many as 
were disposed, inclined, or had a desire, for eter- 
nal life, believed. It does not assert a decree that 
they should be saved, any more than if one of our 
ministers should, report that he found many disposed 
to receive the truth, and they readily believed. 

7. Rev. 13:8 : "Written in the book of life of 
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." 
All this text asserts is that the Lamb was slain (in 
God's purpose) from the foundation of the world; 
that is, from the time when the great dispensation 
of redemption was fixed upon and begun. Rev. 
17: 8 is unquestionably designed as a declaration ex- 

What is said to be from the foundation of the world in Rev. 
13:8? 38. What other passage is parallel with this? 39. 



310 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

actly parallel with Rev. 13:8, though quite ellipti- 
cal in its form of expression. Here we have, in- 
stead of " the book of life [of the Lamb slain] from 
the foundation of the world," simply the words 
" book of life [ ] from the foundation of the world," 
designed probably as a statement of the same great 
fact. There is propriety and force in the declara- 
tion that the Lamb was slain and the book of life 
was opened from the foundation of the world ; but 
what possible reason can be conceived why the name 
of any person should be entered therein before such 
person has openly professed to become a follower of 
that Lamb whose book it is. If it be said that they 
were entered there because God had passed his de- 
cree in all these cases, and they were elected to be 
saved, we reply that such a conclusion cannot be en- 
tertained ; for though a person may have once had 
his name in the book of life, unless he proves to be 
an over comer, his name will be blotted from that 
book, and he will find his portion at last in the lake 
of fire. Rev. 3:5; 20:15. 

8. An examination of a few expressions found in 
the 9th chapter of Romans will be all that is further 
required in this brief synopsis of the subject. 

(1.) Through Moses, the Lord said to Pharaoh, 
" Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, 
that I might show my power in thee." Verse 17. 
The passage in Exodus (9:16) from which this is 
quoted, reads: "And in very deed, for this cause 
have I raised thee up," etc. The margin reads, 
"Made thee stand." This expression, applied to a 
king, simply means to bring to the throne, to estab- 
lish in the kingdom; as, " There shall stand up yet 
three kings in Persia." Dan. 11:2. The time was 

What is said about Pharaoh in Ex. 9: 16? 40. What does 
the expression mean ? 41. When did God harden Pharaoh's 



PKEDESTINATTOK 311 

coming for the deliverance of God's people from 
Egypt. At the same time there was a reprobate 
upon the throne, who would not heed the voice of 
Jehovah, but would exert all the power of his king- 
dom to prevent that deliverance which God had 
promised. God might have removed him, and brought 
to the throne a just and amiable prince, who would 
have recognized Israel's right, and given them safe 
passage out of his kingdom. Then the world would 
have said, "Israel went out, not because God had 
promised, but because a weak and foolish king let 
them go." So God said, Let the wicked Pharaoh 
keep the throne ; let proud, rebellious, reprobate man, 
exerting all human power, stand up against my 
purposes ; and then let the world see how easily my 
work will go forward over it all. This is all the 
"raising up" God did to Pharaoh; yet the skeptic 
will represent it that God gave Pharaoh life on pur- 
pose that he might destroy him, and compelled him, 
time and again, to falsify his word, and to take the de- 
fiant, wicked course that he did, and then punished 
him for it ; which was not at all the case. 

But did not God harden Pharaoh's heart? Cer- 
tainly; but when? — After he had endured his re- 
bellious course to the limit of his longsuffering ; for 
such, verse 22 declares, is God's method of dealing 
with these reprobates. He first offers to all men 
light, and truth, and mercy. 2 Thess. 2:10. If 
they incorrigibly refuse these, there follows, not 
only as an inevitable consequence, but as a judicial 
infliction from him, darkness, and error, and wrath. 
Verse 11. He offers them first the position of 
agents to carry out harmoniously his will. When 



heart 1 Why did he harden it ] 42. What proves this ? 
Verse 22. 43, What does God first offer men ? 44. If they 



312 SYNOPSIS OF THE PKESENT TRUTH. 

they refuse this, he makes them monuments of his 
power by triumphing in judgments over all their 
opposition. Rom. 9:22. He first tries to make 
them vessels of honor. If they will not be molded 
into these,, he does the next best thing he can with 
them, aud makes them vessels of dishonor, as the 
potter has power to do. Verse 21. So it was with 
Pharaoh ; for though the particulars of his previous 
contumacy are not given us, the rule by which God 
acts in such cases is plainly stated. 

(2.) The "election " of Horn. 9: 11 is not a decree 
of damnation, but the choice of Jacob instead of 
Esau to receive special favors from God. God has a 
right to bestow his favors as he wills. No one has 
any claims upon him. The non-recipients are in 
nowise wronged, while the recipients are greatly 
favored. 

(3.) " Esau have I hated." Before either Jacob or 
Esau were born, it is recorded that God " loved " one 
and " hated " the other. Does not this prove eternal 
reprobation? — No; for the word "hated" does not 
here signify a positive exercise of ill-will or malevo- 
lence ; but it has simply a relative meaning, signify- 
ing to " love less," as in Luke 14: 26. For his own 
good reasons, God loved Esau less than he loved 
Jacob, and so made Jacob the subject of special fa- 
vor. But he in nowise jeopardized Esau's eternal 
interests, nor did him any inj ustice. 

(4.) "Whom he will he hardeneth." Even here 
we have no occasion to " reply against God; " for he 
has revealed to us what his " will " is in this matter. 
He wills to harden only those who reject his mercy; 

refuse these, what follows ? 45. What kind of election is 
brought to view in Kom. 9:22? 46. What does the word 
"hated" mean, in the expression, "Esau have I hated"? 
47. When does God "will" to harden? 48. Upon whom 



PREDESTINATION. 313 

and he " will have mercy " upon all who will receive 
it. 

9. But if God foreknows that I will be lost, must 
I not be lost despite all contingencies? — In this case 
you are to be lost, of course, but not because God 
foreknows it, nor by any personal decree of his. It 
would be the same if God did not foreknow it. To 
illustrate: A young man moves into the society of 
evil companions and the atmosphere of the saloon. 
He is perfectly free to resist if he will; but he yields 
to temptation, goes down, and is lost. You felt 
morally certain it would be so in the beginning. 
Suppose you had foreknown it absolutely; would 
your foreknowledge have compelled him to that 
course? — Not at all. Neither does God's foreknowl- 
edge, in any case. Events transpire, not because God 
foreknows them; but he foreknows them because 
they are to transpire. In this we speak only of 
events connected with free moral agency. Such 
agents he leaves free to decide their own destiny. 

Such as herein set forth we believe to be the Bible 
doctrine of election and predestination. We have 
called it a doctrine full of consolation. It assures 
the heart of every believer. It dispels doubt and 
misgiving. It shows how sure is the Christian's 
hope. In Christ we are elected to be saved. In him 
we stand upon the decree of Jehovah, declared from 
the beginning, and as firm as the pillars of his own 
throne. The only contingency lies in our own course 
of action. Let us, therefore, labor to make our call- 
ing and election sure. 

does he "will" to have mercy ? 49. Does God's foreknowl- 
edge that a man will sin compel him to sin 1 50. Does any 
event, connected with free moral agency, transpire because 
God foreknows it, or does he foreknow it because it is go- 
ing to take place ? 



CHAPTER XXX 



The One Hundred and Forty-four Thousand. 

As we investigate the third angel's message, we 
naturally feel an interest to know if the prophecies 
anywhere intimate what the effect of this message 
will be ; or what measure of success will attend it. 
We think we find this clearly indicated in the 
seventh chapter of Revelation. We have shown 
that the angel ascending with the seal of the living 
God, here brought to view, is the same as the third 
angel of Revelation 14. And as the result of this 
work, in Revelation 7 it is declared that 144,000 
were sealed as the servants of God. 

But, says one, the 144,000 cannot belong to the 
present generation, or be gathered in the gospel dis- 
pensation; for they were sealed out of the twelve 
tribes of the children of Israel. A sufficient answer 
to this is found in the testimony of James. He, 
writing in A. D. 60, to Christians, and for the benefit 
of Christians, and carrying us down even to the 
coming of Christ, addresses his epistle to the twelve 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER THIRTY. 

1. What scripture indicates the result of the third angel's 
message? 2. With what is the sealing angel of Revelation 
7 identical? 3. What is the result of the sealing work of 
Revelation 7? 4. From whom are the 144,000 gathered? 
5. What do some conclude from this ? 6. Where do we 
find an answer? 7. When did James write? 8. For whom 
and to whom did he write ? 9. Under what title does he 
address them? 10. What does this prove? 11. Where and 
[314] 



the 144,000. 315 

tribes scattered abroad. It is evident, therefore, 
that Christians are counted as belonging to the 
twelve tribes. 

In what sense are they so considered? for there 
are no genealogies of tribes preserved among men in 
this dispensation. Paul illustrates this by a beauti- 
ful figure in the eleventh chapter of Romans. He 
sets forth the people of God in the former dispensa- 
tion, the literal Israel, under the figure of an olive- 
tree with twelve branches. These branches repre- 
sented the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. 
These branches were broken off, which signified that 
the Jews, by rejecting Christ ceased to be God's 
people. 

The Gentiles who accepted Christ were taken by 
the Lord as his people; and Paul represents this 
movement by branches of a wild olive grafted into 
the tame. Where the natural branches, the Jews, 
were broken off, there the wild olive, the Gentiles, 
were grafted in. Now, how did this affect the tree? 
There were, at first, twelve branches, representing 
the twelve tribes of the children of Israel ; and after 
they were broken off, and grafts were inserted from 
the Gentiles, or Christians, there are still twelve 
branches, or tribes, in the household of faith. 

These are not the literal seed, but the spiritual; 
because they are not brought in by faith. So we 
hear Paul saying, in Rom. 2: 28, 29, "He is not a 
Jew, which is one outwardly ; neither is that circum- 

by what figure does Paul illustrate this matter? 12. By 
what are the people of God in the former dispensation rep- 
resented ? 13. What did the twelve branches signify? 14. 
What became of these branches ? 15. What did this illus- 
trate? 16. What then was done ? 17. When the Gentiles 
are grafted in, what is the condition of the tree \ 18. What 
kind of a seed are these Gentiles? 19. Name and explain 



316 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

cision, which is outward in the flesh; but he is a 
Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is 
that of the heart, in the spirit, and not of the letter." 
Again, Paul says, Rom. 9:6-8, "They are not all 
Israel which are of Israel; neither, because they are 
the seed of Abraham, are they all children; but, In 
Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which 
are the children of the flesh, these are not the chil- 
dren of God; but the children of the promise are 
counted for the seed." And he adds, in Gal. 4:28, 
that, "We, brethren, [Christians] as Isaac was, are 
the children of promise." And he adds in the next 
verse that he was born after the Spirit. 

Nothing could be plainer than these testimonies, 
that there is a spiritual seed, reckoned as the true 
Israel, perpetuated, not in a literal, but in a spiritual 
sense. 

Because the twelve tribes, therefore, are mentioned 
in Revelation, from whom the 144,000 are sealed, 
that is no evidence that they are not taken from the 
gospel dispensation; or even from the closing por- 
tion of it. But we have still clearer evidence to 
present upon this point. 

The New Jerusalem, which John saw coming 
down from God out of heaven, in which there was 
the throne of the Lamb, as well as the throne of God, 
will not certainly be considered a Jewish city ; for 
in the twelve foundations were the names of the 
twelve apostles. But on the twelve gates of that 
city, as described in Rev. 21:12, there are names 

the texts -which prove that they are a spiritual seed. 20. 
May the 144,000, therefore, be sealed from Christians even at 
the close of this dispensation 1 21. What city did John see 
coming down from God out of heaven? 22. Was this a 
Jewish or a Christian city? 23. What proves it a Christian 
city ? 24. What does it have upon its twelve gates ? 25. 



the 144,000. 317 

written, which are the names of the twelve tribes of 
the children of Israel. 

Now all the people of God, from Adam to the 
close of the gospel dispensation, will go into that 
city through some one of those twelve gates ; hence, 
all will be reckoned, both Jews and Christians, as 
belonoino- to some one of the twelve tribes. 

No genealogy is kept of those tribes here upon 
earth, as it is not necessary that men should now 
understand these distinctions. But Paul speaks of 
the church of the first-born written in heaven, giving 
us to understand that the record is kept there. The 
only object of preserving the tribes distinct in the 
former dispensation was that men might understand 
the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning Christ, 
who was to spring from a particular tribe ; and the 
Jews might thus be able to identify the Messiah. 
But since Christ has come, that necessity no longer 
exists; and hence the genealogy of the tribes has 
been irrecoverably lost. 

This company, the 144,000, are again brought to 
view in Rev. 14: 1-5. And here we have indisputa- 
ble evidence that they are gathered from the last 
generation of the living. John says, "A Lamb stood 
on the Mount Sion, and with him a hundred and 
forty and four thousand, having his Father's name 
written in their foreheads." This name is the same 
as the seal of God brought to view in Revelation 7 ; 
hence this company is the same as the 144,000 of 
chapter 7. 

What does this prove? 26. Where is the genealogy of the 
tribes now kept ( 27. What was the object of preserving 
the genealogy in the former dispensation ? 28. Does that 
object any longer exist? 29. Where are the 144,000 again 
brought to view? 30. What conclusion can be drawn from 
this reference ? 31. What does John say of this company? 
32. What is the Father's name? 33. What does this show? 



318 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

And of these it is said, that they were "redeemed 
from the earth/' and "redeemed from among men." 
This can mean nothing else but translation from 
among the living. These first five verses of Revela- 
tion 14 belong to chapter 13, and are the closing- 
portion of the line of prophecy beginning with chap- 
ter 12. This 144,000 are the ones who pass through 
the terrible conflict with the power symbolized by 
the two-horned beast described in Rev. 13:11-17. 
But we have shown that this power is a symbol of 
our own government, is now upon the stage of action, 
and is the last power which persecutes the church of 
God. Therefore the 144,000 are the ones who are 
developed by the third angel's message, and who will 
be translated from among men at the second coming 
of Christ. 

The sealing work of Revelation 7 results in seal- 
ing the number here specified; but as this is identi- 
cal with the third angel's message, this sealing work 
has for many years already been going forward; 
and some whose whole religious experience has been 
connected with, and is owing to, this work, have 
fallen asleep since the message commenced. Will 
they be reckoned with this 144,000? If so, how 
can it be said that they will be redeemed from 
among men, or be translated? 

34. From what are this company said to he redeemed ? 35. 
What does this expression prove ? 36. To what prophecy 
do the first five verses of Revelation 14 belong'/ 37. 
Through what conflict, therefore, do these 144,000 pass? 
38. What is the two-horned beast, and when does he do his 
work ? 39. To what conclusion does this lead respecting 
the 144,000? 40. How long has this sealing work been 
going forward? 41. What has taken place with some who 
have been brought out by this message ? 42. Will they be 
numbered with the 144,000, or help compose that company? 
43. How can they be said to be redeemed from among men? 



the 144,000. 319 

We answer, Before Christ comes, there is a. partial 
resurrection to take place, according to Dan. 12:2 
and Rev. 1 : 7. Daniel says, " Many of them that 
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to 
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting 
contempt." This is not the general resurrection of 
either class; for at the general resurrection of the 
righteous there are no wicked ones to be raised, and 
at the general resurrection of the wicked there are 
no righteous ones included. But here is a mixed 
resurrection, taking some, a few, of both classes; 
and this occurs in connection with the standing up 
of Michael, and the closing time of trouble. We 
therefore infer that at this time, probably when the 
voice of God is heard (Joel 3:16, Heb. 12:27, and 
Rev. 10: 17), some of the pre-eminently wicked, and 
some of the pre-eminently good, including all those 
who have died in the third angel's message, will be 
raised from the dead, but raised only to mortal life. 
Being then raised from the dead, and taking their 
place with those who have not died under this mes- 
sage, they are translated when the Lord appears; 
and hence, with the others, may also be said to be 
redeemed from anions' men. 



44. How is it shown that Daniel's words apply before the 
general resurrection? 45. At what point are they probably 
raised] 46. In what condition are they raised ? 47. How 
do they gain immortality? 48. Can they, like the others, be 
then said to be redeemed from amonsr men ? 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



The Ministration of Angels. 

Jude 6: "And the angels which kept not their 
first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath 
reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto 
the Judgment of the great day." 

This text brings to view an order of beings called 
angels, and also shows that there are two classes of 
them, one which kept not their first estate, and an- 
other class which have kept it. 

Peter speaks of the same. 2 Pet. 2:4. "For if 
God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them 
down to hell, and delivered them into chains of dark- 
ness, to be reserved unto Judgment," etc. Here the 
angels that sinned are those who, as described by 
Jude, kept not their first estate. The whole host of 
angels were therefore originally holy, but a part of 
them have fallen into sin, and are reserved unto the 
Judgment of the great day. 

These angels are not the departed spirits of hu- 
man beings; for Job speaks of the time when the 
foundation of this earth was laid, and says that the 
morning stars sang together, and the sons of God 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE. 

1. What is the testimony of Jude 6? 2. What does this 
text bring to view? 3. Where does Peter speak of the same? 
4. What is his language? 5. How is it shown that Peter 
refers to the same as Jude? 6. What, therefore, was the orig- 
inal condition of all the angelic host? 7. Are these angels 
departed human spirits? 8. What is Job's testimony, and 
(320) 



THE MINISTRATION OF ANGELS. 321 

shouted for joy. Job. 38:7. These were undoubt- 
edly the angelic hosts, antedating the creation of the 
world and the history of man. 

Moreover, Peter, in the text already quoted, speaks 
first of the angels and then of the old world pre- 
ceding the flood, evidently making a distinction be- 
tween the angels and the earliest inhabitants of the 
earth. Again, when Adam and Eve were driven 
from Paradise, before ever a human being had 
died upon the earth, cherubim were placed at 
the east of the garden of Eden to keep the way of 
the tree of life ; and these cherubim constitute one 
division of the angelic hosts. Consequently, angels 
are not the spirits of departed men. 

Angels are real beings. They are described in 
the Bible as possessing face, feet, wings, etc. Eze- 
kiel says of the cherubim, "Their whole body and 
their backs, and their hands, and their wings," etc. 
Eze. 10:12. Angels appeared unto Abraham. 
Gen. 18 : 1-8. They talked and ate with him. 
They went on to Sodom, and communed with Lot, 
who, entering into his house, baked unleaven bread 
for them, and they did eat. These persons were 
called angels. David speaks of the manna as the 
corn of heaven, and angels' food. Ps. 78: 23-25. 

The case of Balaam (Num. 22:22-31) is an inter- 
esting incident. The angel appeared to Balaam 
with a drawn sword in his hand. The question is 
sometimes asked how angels can be material beings, 

where fQund? 9. What testimony of Peter's proves the same 
thing? 10. What incident that took place in Eden also shows 
it? 11. What were these cherubim? 12. What can be said 
of the reality of angels? 13. How are they described in the 
Bible? 14. Who appeared unto Abraham? 15. What did 
they do? 16. What was their course with Lot? 17. How 
does David speak of them? 18. What may be said of the 

31 



322 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

since we cannot see them. This case illustrates how 
this can be. The record says the Lord opened the 
eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel. The angel 
did not create a body for that occasion. He was 
just the same as he was before Balaam saw him; 
but the change took place in Balaam. His eyes 
were opened, then he beheld the angel. It was the 
same with the servant of Elisha when he and his 
master were brought into a strait place, surrounded 
by the army of the king of Syria. 2 Kings 6 :17. 
Elisha prayed that the eyes of his servant might be 
opened ; and he immediately saw the whole mount- 
ain full of horses and chariots round about Elisha. 

This may be further illustrated by a reference 
to things which we know are material, and yet 
which we cannot see. Air is material, steam is ma- 
terial, even thought itself is only the result of ma- 
terial organizations, — matter acting upon matter, — 
and yet we can see none of these things. Just so 
with the angels. 

It is further objected to the materiality of the 
angels, that they are called spirits. Heb. 1:13, 14. 
But this is no objection to their being literal beings. 
They are simply spiritual beings, having bodies or- 
ganized differently from those which we possess. 
Paul says (1 Cor. 15 : 44), " There is a natural body, 
and there is a spiritual body." The natural body 
we now have ; the spiritual body we shall have in 

case of Balaam? 19. What question is sometimes asked? 
20. How does this case illustrate it? 21. Into what position 
were Elisha and his servant at one time brought? 22. What 
was Elisha's prayer? 23. Wh.it did his servant then behold? 
24. Who were these beings represented by horses and char- 
iots? 25. Name some other material things which we can- 
not see? 26. What are angels called in Heb. 1:13, 14? 27. 
What objection is based on this 1 28. How is this objection 



THE MINISTRATION OF ANGELS. 323 

the resurrection. "It is raised a spiritual body." 
Verse 44. But then we are equal unto the angels 
(Luke 20 : 36) ;■ then we have bodies like unto Christ's 
most glorious body. Phil. 3 : 21. And Christ is no 
less a spirit than the angels. We read that God is 
a spirit, that is, simply a spiritual being. 

The angels are beings of great exaltation and 
power. At the resurrection of our Lord, the pres- 
ence of one angel struck the Roman guard to the 
ground like dead men. Matt. 28 : 3. Even the 
prophets themselves frequently fell helpless before 
the majesty of the angels that came to bring them 
revelations from the Lord. Dan. 10 : 8, 17 ; Rev. 
19:10; 22:8. An angel destroyed the army of 
Sennacherib. 2 Kings 19:35. It was undoubtedly 
the angels that threw down the walls of Jericho. 
Josh. 6 : 20. 

These exalted beings are appointed to be minis- 
ters of the saints of God. Heb. 1:14. It appears 
from Matt. 18 : 10 that every child of God has an 
accompanying angel. The church in Jerusalem un- 
derstood this ; for when the voice of Peter was 
heard at the gate, they, supposing Peter was in 
prison, declared that it was his angel. Acts 12 : 15. 

The history of the church is filled with instances 
of the ministration of these heavenly beings to the 
people of God. They protected the three worthies 
in the fiery furnace. Dan. 3:25. They .shut the 
mouths of lions that they should not touch the serv- 

answered? 29. When we have spiritual bodies, to whom 
are we equal? 30. What may be said of the exalted charac- 
ter of the angels? 31. What incidents prove that they are 
beings of high power and glory? 32. Who destroyed Sen- 
nacherib's army? 33. How many were destroyed, and in how 
long a time ? 34. Who threw down the walls of Jericho ? 
35. What is the office of these exalted beings? 36. What is 
proved by Matt. 18:10? 37. What incident in Peter's life 



324 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

ant of God. Dan. 6 : 22. They unloosed the 
chains and opened the prison doors before Peter. 
Acts 12:7. David says, "The angel of the Lord 
encampeth round about them that fear him, and de- 
livereth them." Read also other ministrations to 
Daniel and John, as recorded in their writings 
throughout. 

Angels are undoubtedly the ones that make the 
books of record from which we are all to be judged. 
Rev. 20 : 12. Angels assist in the Judgment. Dan. 
7:9, 10; Rev. 5:11. The angels will gather the 
saints at the coming of Christ. Matt. 24:31; 25: 
31; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. 

Such is the work ascribed to the holy angels. 
The angels who have sinned have also a work in 
which they are busily engaged. Their object is to 
thwart the efforts of the holy angels who are work- 
ing in our behalf, and to lead mankind tc sin and 
finally to ruin. Much speculation has been indulged 
in regarding the origin of Satan. In the light of 
the Scriptures, this question is involved in no diffi- 
culty. God could not consistently constitute creat- 
ures other than free moral agents. Being such, 
they had the power to sin and fall. The Bible as- 
sures us that some angels have so fallen. The 
leader in this work of rebellion is called Satan. 
God created him pure and upright. He has by his 
own action brought himself into this condition of 
evil. Christ says of him (John 8 : 44) that he was a 

proves this? 38. Name other instances of their ministra- 
tion for God's people. 39. What books do the angels pre- 
pare? 40. What do the angels have to do with the Judg- 
ment? 41. Who will be gathered by them at the coming of 
Christ? Reference. 42. Are the evil angels active? 43. 
What is their work? 44. What has resulted from the ques- 
tion of Satan's origin? 45. Explain this question in the 
light of the Scriptures. 46. What does John 8:44 say of 



THE MINISTRATION OF ANGELS. 325 

murderer from the beginning, that he abode not in 
the truth, and that he is the father of lies. This 
shows that all these evils had their origin with him. 
Isa. 14:12-14 and Eze. 28:13-17 show the exalted 
position he occupied before his fall, and the cause of 
his overthrow. His heart was lifted up because of 
his beauty, and he aspired to a higher position than 
that assigned him by his Creator.. Thus pride is 
shown to be the source of all the evil that has come 
into the universe. 

These evil angels are just as real beings as the 
good. If men can explain away Satan, the devil, 
and demons, by calling them figures of speech, by 
the same rule we can explain away the good angels, 
Christ, and God himself, leaving the universe with- 
out a maker or a ruler. 

It is asked why God permits these fallen beings 
to exist. We answer by asking why he permits 
wicked men to exist. The same principle is in- 
volved in both questions; and the same answer will 
apply to both. We cannot, indeed, account for sin. 
Charles Beecher, in his work entitled, "Redeemer 
and Redeemed," page 82, says: " Sin is, in its own 
nature, anomalous, and therefore mysterious; it is 
in its own nature an unaccountable thing ; for the 
moment that it is properly accounted for, i. e., the 
moment we have assigned a good and sufficient 
cause for it, that moment it ceases to be sin. A 
good and sufficient cause is a good and sufficient 

Satan? 47. What scriptures speak of liis original condition? 
48. "What was this condition? 49. What was the cause of 
his fall? 50. Are the evil angels real beings? 51. What 
follows from the position of some that the terms Satan, devil, 
etc., are on y figures of speech? 52. Why does God permit 
these agents of evil to exist? 53. What does Charles Beecher 
say of the origin and existence of sin? 54. What will doubt- 



326 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

excuse; and that which has a good and sufficient 
excuse is not sin. To account for sin, therefore, is 
to defend it; and to defend it is to certify that it 
does not exist. Therefore the objection that it is 
inconceivable and unaccountable that sin should 
enter into such a perfect universe amounts to noth- 
ing but saying that sin is exceedingly sinful, inex- 
cusable, and destitute of the least defense for justifi- 
cation." 

God doubtless permits sin to run its career that 
its exceeding sinfulness may be seen, and his justice 
be vindicated in finally destroying sin and all its 
agents forever. 

When Satan sinned, he was east out of heaven 
(2 Peter 2 : 4), cast down to Tartarus. This is 
defined to mean the dark and fathomless void that 
surrounds the material universe. It must therefore 
include the interplanetary spaces. 

Being thus cast out, he, by the temptation and 
fall of man, gained possession of the earth. Genesis 
3. By this means he has become the " god and prince 
of this world." The fair inheritance given to Adam 
has passed over into the possession of Satan, until it 
shall be redeemed by Christ. 

Sinful man is Satan's lawful captive. Rom. 5 : 
13 ; Eccl. 3 : 20. In this condition he is represented 
as a prisoner. Job 3 : 17, 18 ; Isa. 24 : 22. Of 
Satan it is said in Isaiah 14 : 17 that he opened not 
"the house of his prisoners." The grave is called 
the land of the enemy. Jer. 31 : 16, 17. Death is 
called the last enemy of the righteous. 1 Cor. 
15 :26. 

less be shown by it at last ? 55. Where was Satan cast when 
he sinned? 50. Where is Tartarus? 57. How did he gain a 
foothold in this world? 58. Who now has dominion of the 
earth? 59. What is now the condition of sinful man? 60. 



THE MIXISTKATION OF ANGELS. 327 

The mission of Jesus is to destroy this work of 
the enemy. 1 John 3 : 8. And not only will he 
destroy the works of the devil, but he is also to 
destroy the devil himself. Heb. 2 : 14. This is 
accomplished as a part of the great plan of salvation. 
Christ gives himself first to die for man, then acts as 
intercessor in his behalf, pardoning the sins of the 
penitent. Having finished his work as priest, he 
returns in the clouds of heaven (his second advent), 
raises the righteous dead, and translates the righteous 
living. Satan is then bound for a thousand years. 
Rev. 20 : 1-3. At the end of that period the wicked 
dead are raised, and, with Satan at their head, come 
up around the camp of the saints, the beloved city, 
the New Jerusalem, which has then come down to 
this earth (Rev. 21), and fire comes down from God 
out of heaven, and devours them all. This is the fire 
of the great day spoken of in Mai. 4:1, which shall 
burn as an oven, and consume all that do wickedly, 
root and branch, Satan and all his followers, evil 
angels and evil men. This is the day and this the 
fire of which Peter speaks (2 Peter 3 : 7), when he 
says that the heavens and the earth are kept in 
store, reserved unto fire against the day of Judgment 
and perdition of ungodly men. From this fiery 
ordeal there come forth new heavens and a new earth 
to be the everlasting abode of the righteous. Verse 
13. 



WHat is the object of Christ's mission? Gl. By what pro- 
cess is this accomplished? 62. Xanie the order of events? 
63. What scriptures speak of this time when Satan and his 
followers shall be destroyed? 64. What follows? 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



The Saints' Inheritance. 

"Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, 
we have forsaken all, and followed thee ; what shall 
we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, 
Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed 
me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall 
sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon 
twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." 
Matt. 19 : 27, 28. 

The question here raised by Peter is a very com- 
mon one. What shall we have ? What shall be the 
reward or inheritance hereafter of the people of God? 
Christ points them forward as the time of their 
reward to the regeneration or the re-genesis brought 
to view in the Scriptures. In harmony with this, 
we find prophecies of a new heaven and a new earth 
to succeed the present. Isa. 65 : 17: " For, behold, 
I create new heavens and a new earth ; and the 
former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." 
Peter, in his second epistle, third chapter, describes 
the destruction of the present earth by fire in the 

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO. 

1. What question is a very natural one to be raised by 
Christians? 2. What disciple put this question to our Lord? 
3. To what time did Christ point him? 4. What is the 
regeneration? 5. What prophecies harmonize with this 
view? C. To what promise does Peter refer to support the 
idea of a new heaven and new earth? 7. What does this 
(328) 



THE saints' inheritance. 329 

great day of the Lord, when the elements shall melt 
with fervent heat, and the earth also, and the works 
that are therein shall be burned up; but he adds, 
"Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for 
new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth 
righteousness." The promise to which he refers is 
the one just quoted from the prophecy of Isaiah. 
This certainly is no figure; and it points plainly to 
the future of our earth. 

In Isa. 45: 18 we find this purpose expressed by 
the Lord in the formation of the earth: "For thus 
saith the Lord that created the heavens; God him- 
self that formed the earth and made it; he hath 
established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it 
to be inhabited. I am the Lord; and there is none 
else." 

He certainly did not form it to be inhabited by a 
race of wicked beings such as now dwell upon it. 
It must be inhabited by those who are in harmony 
with his own will; and this purpose will be carried 
out. Accordingly, we find promises made to the 
righteous that they shall inherit the land. Ps. 37 : 
11: " The meek shall inherit the earth." Pro v. 2: 
21, 22: " For the upright shall dwell in the land, 
and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked 
shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors 
shall be rooted out of it." So says our Lord him- 
self in his first recorded sermon: "Blessed are the 
meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5:5. 
This is not fulfilled in the present condition of this 



"What purpose does 
the Lord express in Isa. 45:18? 9. Has this purpose ever 
been accomplished ? 10. Will it be accomplished ? 11. What 
promises are made to the righteous respecting the earth, 
and where recorded? 12. Why cannot these promises be 



330 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

world; nor can it be till a new dispensation shall be 
ushered in. 

The promises made to the ancient worthies bring- 
to view the same thing. Heb. 11 : 13: " These all 
died in faith, not having received the promises. " Heb. 
6:12: "That ye be not slothful, but followers of 
them who through faith and patience inherit the 
promises." Then Paul refers to the promise made to 
Abraham; and he shows our connection with it; 
for he says that it was given that we might have 
strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay 
hold of the hope set before us." 

The promise to Abraham is recorded in Gen. 12: 
1-3. " In thee shall all the families of the earth be 
blest." Gen. 22:18: "And in thy seed shall all 
the nations of the earth be blest." This promise 
must be universal, and it must reach through all time : 
otherwise all the nations of the earth would not be 
blessed in him. Rom. 4:13 shows that this is the 
view to be taken of the promise to Abraham. "For 
the promise that he should be the heir of the ivorld 
was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, 
but through the righteousness of faith." 

By the promise, Abraham is therefore made heir 
of the world ; and yet we are told that he died, not 
having received the promise. How, then, can the 
promise be fulfilled? — Answer: Only by a resurrec- 
tion of the dead. Paul says in Acts 26: 6, 7: " And 



fulfilled in this present state ? 13. When will they be ful- 
filled ? 14. What is brought to view in the "promises"? 
15. To what does Paul refer in Heb. 6: 13 ? 16. How is our 
connection with this promise shown? 17. Where are the 
original promises to Abraham found ? 18. Quote them. 
19. How f extensive [is this promise, and why? 20. What 
view does Paul take of this promise, in Rom. 4:13? 21. 
When was this promise fulfilled to Abraham? 22. How, 



THE saints' inhekitance. 331 

now I stand and am judged for the hope of the prom- 
ise made of God unto our fathers; unto which prom- 
ise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and 
night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king 
Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it 
be thought a thing incredible with you that God 
should raise the dead? " Here the whole promise is 
shown to rest upon the future resurrection of the 
dead. 

Paul, in Gal. 3 : 8, calls this promise to Abraham 
the gospel. " And the scripture, forseeing that 
God would justify the heathen through faith, 
preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, 
In thee shall all nations be blessed." He says fur- 
ther, in verse 16, that the promise to the seed is to 
Christ; and in verse 29, that we become Abraham's 
seed, and heirs to the promise by becoming connected 
with Christ. " And if ye be Christ's, then are ye 
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." 
Heirs of what? We have just seen that Abraham 
is heir of the world, and if we become heirs with 
him, then our heirship embraces the world. 

This is in harmony with the scriptures already 
quoted, affirming that the meek shall inherit the 
earth. The promises, then, embrace all that Christ 
has undertaken in our behalf. They include the 
whole plan of salvation. By coming to Christ, and 
accepting him, we become "Abraham's seed, and 
heirs according to the promise." And this plan of 

then, can it be fulfilled? 23. What does Paul show in Acts 
26: 6, 7 ? 24. What does Paul, in Gal. 3:8, call this promise 
to Abraham? 25. Who is meant by Abraham's seed to 
whom the promise was made ? 26. How do we become re- 
lated to the prophecies by a connection with Christ ? 27. Of 
what are we thus made heirs ? 28. With what does this view 
harmonize? 29. How much, then, do the promises embrace? 



332 SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TliUTH. 

salvation can be carried out only by a resurrection 
of the dead, when eternal life shall be given to all 
God's people; and by the regeneration of this. earth, 
when a new heavens and a new earth shall be cre- 
ated, and given to the saints as their everlasting pos- 
session. Then the meek shall inherit the earth ; and 
then the promise, as quoted by Peter, can be fulfilled. 
Then the saints shall take the kingdom under the 
whole heaven to possess it forever and ever, as de- 
scribed by Daniel in his interpretation of the great 
image of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2, and in his 
vision of the four beasts in chapter 7: "And the 
kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the 
kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to 
the people of the saints of the Most High." The 
stone cut out of the mountain, representing the 
kingdom of Christ, became a great mountain, and 
filled the whole earth. 

This new heaven and new earth, the everlasting 
abode of the saints, is described by John in Revela- 
tion 21. The New Jerusalem, which comes down 
from heaven, the city of beauty and glory, is its 
grand metropolis. All tears are wiped away; there 
is no more death, sorrow, or care ; pain never enters ; 
and the former things are passed aAvay. All things 
are made new. The son of God and the Lamb is 
the light of it, and the nations of the saved bring 
their honor and glory into it. There will be no 
night there! Nothing will ever enter in to defile or 

30. How can these promises be fulfilled, or the plan of sal- 
vation be carried out ? 31. What will the meek then inherit? 

32. What promise mentioned by Peter will then be fulfilled ? 

33. What prophecies of Daniel will then be fulfilled ? 84. 
Can they be fulfilled in any other way? 35. What does 
John describe in Rev. 21 ? 3*6. What is to be the metropolis 
of this new earth 1 37. What is to be the condition of the 



THE saints' inheritance. 333 

to - destroy, and they only will possess it who are 
written in the Lamb's book of life. 

Isaiah describes it as the place where -the eyes of 
the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf 
unstopped, and the lame man shall leap as an hart, 
and the tongue of the dumb shall sing ; in the wil- 
derness waters break forth, and streams in the des- 
ert. The parched ground becomes a pool, the thirsty 
ground springs of water ; and the ransomed of the 
Lord come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy 
upon their heads. 

There is the river of life, that stream which 
makes glad the city of God ; and the tree of life, 
which is for the service of the nations. Then God's 
original purpose concerning the earth will be car- 
ried out. His glory will fill the earth as the waves 
fill the sea. And then the wicked, having all been 
destroyed, the universal song of jubilee heard by 
John in vision on Patmos will rise to God, when 
every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, 
and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and 
all that are in them, will be heard saying: "Bless- 
ing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto him 
that sifcteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb 
forever and ever." Rev. 5:13. 



people of God there I 38. What description does Isaiah give 
of it? 39. What purpose will then be carried out? 40. 
Where do we find prophecies that the glory of the Lord 
shall fill the earth ? 41. When will these prophecies be ful- 
filled? 42. What has then become of the wicked? 43. What 
song will then be heard I 



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H, Littlejohn, 10 cts. 

Life of Christ and his Apostles. 8 books, pa- 
per covers, 90 Cts. 

The Home of the Saved, or the Saints' Inher, 
itance, 10 cts. 



The Ancient Sabbath. Forty-four objections 
considered. 88 pp. 10 cts. 

Key to the Prophetic Chart. A valuable 
publication. 6 cts. 

TRACTS. 

5 cents each. Our Faith and Hope. Justifica- 
tion by Faith. Milton on the State of the Dead. An 
Explanation of the Prophetic Symbols of the Bible 
(Illustrated). 

4 cents each. Redemption. The Second Ad- 
vent. The Sufferings of Christ. The Present Truth. 
Origin and Progress of S. D. Adventists. Ten Com- 
mandments not abolished. Address to the Baptists. 
The Two Thrones. Spiritualism a Satanic Delusion. 
Samuel and the "Witch of Kndor. The Third Mes- 
sage of Rev. 14. Scripture References, Tithes and 
Offerings. Seventh Part of Time. 

3 Cents each. Second Message of Rev, 14. End 
of the "Wicked. Lost-Time Question. Seventh-day 
Adventists and Seventh-dav Baptists. Signs of the 
Times. "Who Changed the Sabbath ? The Spirit of 
Prophecy. The Millennium. Sabbaton. 

2 cents each. Christ in the Old Testament. 
The Saobath in the New Testament. The Old Moral 
Code not Revised. The Sanctuary of the Bible, 
The Judgment. Much in Little. The Two Laws, 
Seven Reasons, The Definite Seventh Day, De- 
parting and Being with Christ. The Rich M*an and 
Lazarus. Elihu on the Sabbath. First Message of 
Rev. 14. The Law and the Gospel. God's Memo- 
rial. The Sabbath Mude for Man. 

1 cent each. Tne Coming of the Lord. Perfec- 
tion of the Ten Commandments, "Without Excuse, 
Thoughts for the Candid. "Which Day and Why? 
Can we Know : or, Can the Prophecies be Under- 
stood? Is the End Near? Is Man Immortal? The 
Sleep of the Dead. The Sinner's Fate, The Law 
of God. What the Gospel Abrogated. One Hundred 
Bible Facts about the Sabbath. Sunday not the 
Sabbath. "The Christian Sabbath." Why not 
Found out Before ? A Sign of the Dav of God. 



CHOICE JUYENILE BOOKS. 

Sabbath Readings for the Home Circle, in 

four volumes, containing moral and religious read- 
ing for the household; carefully selected, and com- 
piled for the use of Sabbath-school and family libra- 
ries. No better books for children in the market. 
Each, 60 cts. 

Put up in a neat box, $2, 50 

Sunshine at Home. A bright, sparkling book 
f >r the family circle, brimful of good sense, and per- 
fectly free from "trash." 112 quarto pages, highlv 
embellished. $1.50 

Golden Grain Series. A choice collection of 
instructive stories suited to the wants of children 
from eight to sixteen years and older, illustrated 
and beautifully bound in three volumes. 

The Hard Way. 160 pp.; The School-boy's Dinner, 
1,10 pp. ; Grumbling Tommy, 160 pp. Each, 

30 cts. 

The Child's Poems. Containing Little Will 
and other stories, teaching beautiful lessons of tem- 
perance and virtue. Bound in cloth, and richly em- 
bossed in gold and black. 128 pp. 25 cts. 

Golden Grains in Ten Pamphlets. 32 pages 

each. 320 pp. 50 cts. 

The Sunshine Series. Stories for little ones, 
in Ten Small Books, adapted to children from the 
ages of four to ten years. 

In glazed paper covers, 320 pp. 50 cts. 



HEALTH PUBLICATIONS. 

Plain Facts about Sexual Life. A wise book, 
treating on delicate topics, for all ages, married and 
single, This is a Christian book, highly commended 
by the press and clergymen, 408 pp. $1, 50 

Condensed edition, flexible covers, 75 cts. 



Manual, of Health and Temperance. A 

book brimful of information on a hundred useful top- 
ics. Thirty-fifth thousand. Cloth. 244 pp- 75 cts, 

Digestion and Dyspepsia. B J J- H - Kellogg, 

M. D, This work embodies the results of the author's 
experience in dealing with all forms of the disease, 
in all of its stages, and is a thoroughly practical 
treatise on this prevalent malady. 
In cloth, 176 pp. 75 cts, 

Paper covers, 25 cts. 

Uses of Water in Health and Disease, giv- 
ing careful and thorough instruction respecting the 
uses of water as a preventive of disease, and as a 
valuable remedy. 

In cloth, 166 pp. 60 cts. 

Paper covers, 136 pp, 25 cts. 

Lectures on the Science of Human Life. 
By Sylvester Graham. Three lectures of great 
value which should be in the hands of every indi- 
vidual. 174 pp. 30 ct3. 

Diphtheria. A concise account of the nature, 
causes, modes of prevention, and most successful 
mode of treatment of this now prevalent and fatal 
diseas e 

Board covers, with 4 colored plates, 64 pp. 25cts. 

Alcoholic Poison : or, the Physical, Moral, ami 
Social Effects of Alcohol as a Beverage and as a 
Medicine. The best compendium <K the temperance 
question published, Its statements are brief, con- 
cise, and to the point. 

Paper covers, 128 pp, 25 cts. 

Evils of Fashionable Dress, and How to Dress 
Healthfully. This little work considers the subject 
of fashionable dress from a medical standpoint, and 
thoroughly exposes its evils. It does not stop here, 
but points out an easy and acceptable remedy. 

Enamel covers, 40 pp. 10 cts. 

Bound Volumes of Health Reformer, and 

Good Health. These valuable volumes contain 
more practical information of a vital character than 
any other of their size. Each volume contains 3' 
pages of reading matter, -well bound. $1, 25 

Proper Diet for Man. A scientific discussion 
of the question of vegetable versus animal food. 
Ultra notions are avoided, and the subjects treated 
are handled with candor. 

Paper covers, 15 cts. 

Health and Diseases of American Women. 
60 pp. 15 cts. 
The Hygienic System. Pu" of good things 



TRACTS. 

3 cents each. Wine and the Bible. Startling 
Facts about Tobacco. 

2 cents each. Pork. The Drunkard's Argu- 
ments Answered, Alcoholic Medication. Twenty- 
five Arguments on Tobacco-Using Briefly Answered. 

1 cent each. Causes and Cure of Intemperance. 
Moral and Social Effects of Intemperance. Tobacco- 
Using a Cause of Disease. Tobacco-Poisoning ; Nic- 
otiana Tabacum. Effects of Tea and Coffee. Ten 
Arguments on Tea and Coffee. 

U cent each. Alcoholic Poison. Tobacco-Using 
a Relic of Barbarism. True Temperance. Alcohol, 
"What is It? Our Nation's Curse. 



OTHER LANGUAGES. 

The Association has 50 different works in Danish- 
Norwegian, 35 in Swedish, 41 in German, 15 in 
French, and 1 in Holland, besides the regular peri- 
odicals in those tongues already noticed. 

0^= Full Catalogues of all our publications in En- 
glish, and the various Foreign Languages, fur- 
nished free, on application. 

For anything in this Catalogue address, 

REVIEW AND HERALD, 

Battle Creek, Mich. 



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